Pillars of Salt

Price: $350 From a tucked-away bay on the Oregon coast, Ben Jacobsen makes some of the best salt you’ll ever taste. Far from the sodium in the shaker at your local diner, Jacobsen creates beautiful, flaky, briny crystals of sea salt that are the perfect final touch to a dish. When he first started harvesting […]

By Jeremy Repanich

Jeremy Repanich

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Pillars of Salt

Williams Sonoma salt

Photo: Courtesy Joshua Scott / Styling by Chloe Daley

Jacobsen Salt Co. Library from Williams Sonoma, $350

Price: $350

From a tucked-away bay on the Oregon coast, Ben Jacobsen makes some of the best salt you’ll ever taste. Far from the sodium in the shaker at your local diner, Jacobsen creates beautiful, flaky, briny crystals of sea salt that are the perfect final touch to a dish.

When he first started harvesting seawater to make his salt, he experimented with multiple spots along the Oregon coast, eventually selecting Netarts Bay. With few freshwater inputs, the bay has high salinity, which is great for harvesting. In addition, oyster farms in the bay help filter the water to make the salt more pristine.

Jacobsen started infusing his salt with herbs, spices, other flavors to create blends that could finish specific dishes. He partnered with Williams Sonoma to create a collection of 25 infused salts all in one set. Among the flavors are rosemary (to sprinkle on fried calamari), habanero (to add to carnitas tacos), and Pinot Noir (a perfect complement to braised beef). It’s a great gift for home cooks who wants to take their flavors to the next level.