History of the Oak Tree

The oak tree is an interesting one. Some of the oldest living trees left on earth are oak trees, with one oak tree even having the luxury of owning its own land. Located in Athens, Georgia, this tress is aptly named “The Tree that Owns Itself.” As legend goes, the original owner of this tree, William H. Jackson, loved it so much that upon his death, he bequeathed the tree’s land to itself sometime during the 1820s. Most accounts of this man’s death are word of mouth, so the official date range of his potential death spans the 1820s and up until 1832. His official will stated that the tree and the surrounding 8 feet of land belonged entirely to the tree, and local residents continued to honor Mr. Jackson’s wishes. Sadly the tree was knocked over during a particularly strong windstorm in 1942. Luckily, members of a local arbor club had taken seedlings from the original tree in the past and after carefully selecting a new owner, the “Son of the Tree that Owns Itself” was transplanted on that plot of land and continues to thrive today. The local authorities continue to care for it and while today trees don’t have any real legal rights, this tree is still honored and its land is left untampered with.

The oak tree is also the symbol of 80th wedding anniversary, a tradition that began all the way back in the Middle Ages! In Ancient Rome, the Romans would give a crown of oak leaves to anyone who had saved the life of someone in battle. This headpiece was called the “civic oak crown.”

Several states in the United States have oak trees as their state tree. Abraham Lincoln used an oak tree as a marker to help him make his way across a river in Illinois. An oak tree in Maryland was once a landmark on a map drawn by William Penn. The largest living Southern Oak Tree is the Seven Sisters Oak Tree, which resides in Mandeville, Louisiana.

How is it Made?

Flake salt is made when sea salt is pressed with a large heated roller. This heated roller compresses the crystals into an irregularly shaped flake; what we call “flake salt.” Flake salt is smooth surfaced and plate-like, or “lamellose.” These crystals have a large surface area, a low mass, and an excellent crunch to them.

This salt is then smoked in a cold-smoking process using bark free, aromatic hardwood. This is a process where smoking takes place in a temperature range of 68 to 86 °F. Cold smoking is best described as flavoring with smoking wood and hot smoking is described as both flavoring and cooking with the use of smoking wood, for reference.

The smoking process is simple. Wood pellets are burnt inside a smoking chamber to produce the cold smoke, and then the smoke wafts around the flake salt, which has been spread out on trays. The cold smoking process can take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.

Cooking with Smoked Oak Salt

Smoked Oak Salt is a wonderfully strong, flavorful salt, so it is best used sparingly or as a finishing salt. If you do desire to cook with it, use it in seafood dishes or rice-based dishes. It is great on chicken and some strongly flavored cheese-based dishes.

This salt can also act as a substitute for meat crumbles in some cases. This is a good trick for salads or pasta dishes, but don’t add too much! It is easy to over salt a dish, and it is impossible to take the salt back out of the dish. Add small amounts at a time until the salt is at an appropriate level for what you like. Seasoning “to taste” is different for everyone, and this salt has the unique quality of being a good finishing salt, so it’s great to keep a little at the table for anyone else eating with you to add it as they please.

This would also be a nice finishing touch on chocolates, like a good caramel. Adding just a few flakes of this salt to a batch of these candies will make your salted caramel experience exponentially better. Add it to caprese for a healthier, more savory application. It is also very tasty as a topper for avocado toast!

Some of our favorite recipes that take advantage of a good finishing salt are Cinnamon and Ancho Chile Chocolate Bark, Smoked Paprika Almonds, and Korean Beef and Broccoli Kebabs.

What Does Smoked Oak Salt Taste Like?

Our Smoked Oak Flake Salt is smoky with a light woody flavor, without being overwhelmingly salty.

Substitutions and Conversions

Use this in place of any finishing salt where you want a nice, smoky flavor. If you are looking for a finishing salt that is less smoky, the French salt Fleur de Sel has absolutely no smokiness at all.

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