Salt is more than just a seasoning — it is an essential flavour enhancer in our food. Salt will intensify aromas, balance other flavours, make the meat taste juicier, and preserve food for months or even years.
Freshly grated salt adds a special twist to every dish. Unlike salt grinders that use already pulverised pieces of salt, RIVSALT’s grinder allows you to work with blocks of different types of salt. The stainless steel grater breaks the salt into small salt crystals that perfectly season your food. The freshly ground salt helps elevate the taste of what you cook, and you will never want to go back to using powdered salt ever again.
Designed by Swedish entrepreneur and designer Jens Sandringer, RIVSALT is a dining table centrepiece and seasoning tool in one. Different types of salt may be grated onto the dish with a Japanese-style stainless steel salt grater of the highest quality. Simply grate the salt over dishes as you would with regular table salt or use as a finishing salt and enjoy its complex flavour.
RIVSALT Original set includes a sparkling block of rock salt, a sharp grater, and a handsome oak stand for both convenience and presentation. RIVSALT also offers various types of salt that go with different dishes, making it a really interesting product for food lovers. Cooking with different types of salt allows you to bring distinct flavours to your food.
RIVSALT is bound to bring great cooking pleasure in the kitchen and create conversations and new experiences around the dinner table. When not in use, it makes a stylish statement piece in your kitchen.
RIVSALT makes a perfect gift for foodies and home chefs who seem to have already “everything”.
The RIVSALT story
Designed by Jens Sandringer, RIVSALT – which means grated salt in Swedish – is an exciting way of adding different types of salt to food.
Jens came up with the idea for RIVSALT while dining at a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant in Beijing, where the master chef grated salt over the guests’ dishes using a large grater and a big salt rock. This experience inspired the initial product idea, which coincided with the emergence of new Scandinavian foodie and design trends.
From the beginning, Jens wanted to make a centrepiece for the kitchen and dinner parties. It should be beautiful enough to remain on the kitchen countertop or the dining table as a decorative item. It should also be easy to use to encourage people to give it a try. People should see it, be intrigued, talk about it, and finally, be eager to try out a new gastronomic experience.
The original RIVSALT product was launched in Sweden in 2012.
The importance of salt
Salt allows you to achieve magic in everyday cooking, effortlessly. As a magnificent multi-tasker, salt releases, elevates, melds, and seals in the natural flavours.
The purpose of adding salt is not to make food taste salty — it is to enhance the different flavours of an ingredient. As has been noted by a number of leading chefs, salt makes food taste more like itself. Salt makes a tomato taste like a tomato with capital T. Salt transforms meat from ordinary fare to an epic, succulent centrepiece. There is a whole section of your taste palate devoted to it, and the ability to season well — and intuitively is the mark of a great cook.
Rock salt guide – when should you use the different types of salts
Rock salt is salt mined from the salt deposits present underground in many parts of the earth. These deposits were formed when ancient water bodies, which had a significant salt content, dried up and left the salt behind. These salt deposits were covered with sediment over time and remained underground until they were mined for salt. Known as halite, it is sodium chloride with traces of many other elements. Sometimes, the mineral content present in rock salt mined from different areas gives them a distinctive flavour.
RIVSALT’s curated collection of rock salts includes:
HIMALAYAN ROCK SALT: Himalayan rock salt comes from an area called the “Salt Range” in northern Pakistan, which is not far from the Himalayas. It is a type of natural rock salt formed when the prehistoric seas dried up some 250 million years ago. The colour of the Himalayan pink salt rocks varies depending on the iron oxide content, from pristine white to beautiful light pink to dramatic deep red.
Flavour: Highly flavoured with long-lasting spicy heat over a mild mineral body.
Ideal for: Seasoning meats and fish, as well as roasted vegetables and as a finishing salt.
PERSIAN BLUE ROCK SALT: Extracted from the salt mines in northern Iran, Persian blue salt is one of the world’s rarest and most exclusive salts. The fascinating blue colour appears when tremendous pressure is applied to the salt deposits during the formation of the salt’s crystalline structure. Individual salt crystals fracture the light in an unusual way, creating an optical illusion that makes the salt appear more or less shimmering blue.
Flavour: Initially quite present, then relatively mild with a silken sweetness.
Ideal for: Seafood, salads, French cuisine and truffles.
ALPINE ROCK SALT: Alpine salt, mined deep in the Austrian Alps, has one of the highest levels of mineral content available. Its reddish-brown colour is due to this high content of minerals and trace minerals including iron.
Flavour: Intense, pure salt taste
Ideal for: Dark meat and game
KALA NAMAK ROCK SALT: Kala Namak truly is a secret ingredient – especially in vegan cuisine – as it adds an egg-like, tangy and slightly smoky flavour due to its high sulphur content. The unusual taste is perfect for many vegan dishes such as tofu scramble, chickpea omelettes and fruit salads.
Flavour: Slightly smokey, tangy
Ideal for: South Asian cuisine, chaats, chutneys and raitas, vegan dishes, savoury deep-fried snacks and movie night popcorn.
HALITE ROCK SALT: Halite salt is a white rock salt discovered deep in Pakistan’s mountains. Halite salt is one of the purest salts available, with a sodium chloride level of up to 99.9% and a crystal-clear look. Rich in natural minerals, this salt can be used as a staple in your everyday cooking. A little goes a long way.
Flavour: Intense natural salt flavour.
Ideal for: Pasta water and everyday dishes
BOLIVIAN ROSE ROCK SALT: This beautiful rosy pink salt comes from the Bolivian Andes and contains up to eight times more iron and up to five times more potassium and calcium than regular sea salt. The slightly lower sodium chloride content makes it ideal for those who monitor sodium intake. As with all natural rock salts, a little goes a long way.
Flavour: Mild and sweet
Ideal for: Everyday cooking
RIVSALT’s videos will show you exciting new ways to combine flavours. You will get pointers from master chefs and hints from mixologists. Invite some friends, get inspired and create a great evening with good food and nice cocktails, of course with that RIVSALT twist.
More than salt…a range of fascinating spices
Spices and seasoning mixtures are some of the best ingredients we can have in our kitchen cupboards. With a sprinkle or a dash, spices turn our everyday dishes into culinary favourites. RIVSALT’s graters are excellent not only for salt but also for spices.
The graters allow you to freshly grate larger and more unusual spices in interesting ways. Some of RIVSALT’s graters and spices include:
GINGER & TURMERIC: Ginger and turmeric are used in many of the same dishes, and they complement each other perfectly. These dried roots, which belong to the Zingiberaceae family, are said to have incredible health advantages – possibly even more so when paired with grated pepper.
Ideal for: A classic curry, vegetarian soups, smoothies, cocktails and healthy lattes. Ginger makes a wonderful detox shot.
JAVA LONG PEPPERS: Aromatic long peppercorns from the Indonesian island of Java have their own distinctive character, as well as the familiar black pepper taste. Surprising fragrances such as liquorice, aniseed, and cinnamon will be detected when grated over your food, with a spicy sensation towards the end. Think of it as a regular black pepper with a twist.
Flavour: Aromatic, slightly spicy
Ideal for: Everyday cooking, pasta, and cocktails with a twist!
100% RAW LIQUORICE: RIVSALT’s premium raw liquorice comes from Italy and is free from additives or impurities. Almost every dessert, be it ice cream or chocolate cake, gets a delicious kick from grated raw liquorice. You may also want to spice up your baking, your Saturday-night chilli or a cup of hot cocoa or tea.
Flavour: A perfect combination of sweet and salty.
Ideal for: Grate over vanilla ice cream, chocolate cakes, hot chocolate and cocktails.
CINNAMON CASSIA BARK: Cinnamon in the form of natural cassia bark is the perfect flavouring for desserts, pastries and meat. Grated cassia bark is also delicious in curries or on top of your latte or cocktail. Cassia sticks are very hard and usually consist of one thick layer, making them ideal for grating with a RIVSALT grater.
Flavour: Aromatic
Ideal for: Desserts, cocktails, pastries and meat
NUTMEG: The Nutmeg tree’s dried and peeled fruit kernels are used to make nutmeg. The ones selected by RIVSALT are organic and carefully hand-picked by a cooperative of small farmers on the Indonesian archipelago of the Moluccas, known as the “Spice Islands”. Nutmeg has a warm, spicy aroma and a wide range of uses. Nutmeg should be grated – not ground – freshly onto hot food at the end of the cooking process. That is how the flavour of the fresh oils is preserved.
Flavour: Warm and spicy
Ideal for: Pumpkin pies, cakes, lasagne, mashed potatoes, custards, hot chocolate, espressos
TONKA BEANS: RIVSALT’s Tonka beans come from northern Brazil, where farmers pick them up and prepare them once they have fallen off the Brazilian Teak tree. The aroma of grated Tonka bean is enchanting: almond, vanilla, woodruff, and fresh hay are fused with fruity, spicy notes. Tonka beans are suitable for desserts, cocktails, savoury dishes and pastry. Sprinkle Tonka shavings on Irish Coffee. Use it in chocolate truffles or crème brûlée alongside sweet fruits like strawberries and apricots. A small amount is all you need to add that delicious, subtle taste.
Flavour: Aromatic, fruity, slightly spicy
Ideal for: Desserts, cocktails, Irish Coffee, chocolate truffles
AMAZON CHILI: Chilli peppers are used to provide heat and flavour to a variety of dishes. Chilli adds a fiery aroma to every dish, whether grated over risottos, pasta or tacos. Not all chillies are as hot as people might think. RIVSALT’s yellow Amazon Chilli grows in Colombia. With 50,000 to 70,000 Scoville heat units, it belongs to a sharper but not extreme group of chillies. Amazon chillies are yellow because they are harvested just before they are fully ripe.
Flavour: Fruity, hot
Ideal for: Pasta bolognese, soups, meat dishes, dips
BIRD’S EYE CHILI: Uganda is home to the red Bird’s Eye chilli. It is among the world’s hottest chillies, with 90,000-120,000 Scoville heat units. The sharpness is intense and direct, with a taste similar to Thai chilli.
Flavour: Hot, sharp
Ideal for: Asian cuisine, homemade BBQ sauce
Different types of salt and spices can elevate a dish from mundane to something fabulous and memorable
Every good cook knows that salt and spices can make or break a dish. While there is nothing wrong with using pre-ground table salt or spices, adding freshly grated salt and freshly ground spices to a dish can elevate the aroma and flavour to a whole new level.
RIVSALT offers a way of life where food experiences are at the centre of all things good. Each unique product provides an opportunity to explore culinary tastes and trends to entice the senses and share the foodie experience. Its collection of different types of salt and delicious and aromatic spices helps home cooks to create memorable meals and takes you on a journey to the far-flung corners of the world, inspired by the spice route and unlocking new flavour experiences in an exciting way.
