{"id":4846,"date":"2021-02-24T11:45:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/?p=4846"},"modified":"2021-02-22T07:22:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T13:22:22","slug":"rock-salt-flavor-retrospective-hyde-park-winter-2020-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/24\/rock-salt-flavor-retrospective-hyde-park-winter-2020-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock Salt Flavor Retrospective: Hyde Park, Winter 2020-2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re approaching the end of February, so as the temperatures rise and we part with the harvesting season and prepare for another cycle of cultivation, we at the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chicago Shady Dealer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thought it might be appropriate to recapitulate the grand triumphs and blistering disappointments of this winter\u2019s flavor palette. A note on methodology: in our blind testing, sampling teams tasted salts found on streets and sidewalks alike. The results are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turquoise: Not the most common find this side of Lake Michigan, but not the rarest either. This has got to be the best rock salt around. As its bewitching hues playfully suggest, so its flavor cuts straight to a crisp, refreshing, oceanic salinity, all while adapting it for Midwestern sensibilities and sidewalks. 3\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translucent with a hint of golden brown: This delicate and rare sample is rich with notes of ginger and nutmeg. Given its scarcity, it seems to be imported<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but it\u2019s well worth the cost of shipping. The pleasing color seems to be a result of its aging in oaken barrels, rather than the typical \u201cpile\u201d or \u201cbag\u201d configuration more common to the region. 2.5\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purple: Principal merit is size and with it, chunkiness. This sidewalk staple recalls the heady vintages of \u201996 and \u201997. These nostalgic spirits bring powerful texture and flavor, a bit <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">powering for many modern preferences. 2\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White: Classic. Ubiquitous for a reason. Strong reminiscences of quintessential Morton \u201967 are present throughout and enhanced by modern crystallization and harvesting techniques. Sacrifices boldness for refinement and precision. 2\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pale green: This year\u2019s most publicized release burst late onto the scene with high expectations, which, unfortunately, it failed to meet. Its strength lies in appearance; this compound is even chunkier than its purple competitor. With a discerning eye, one can even find the rare palm-sized nugget. The flavor, however, leaves something to be desired<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a little bit of kick would go a long way. 1\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White but funny little egg shapes: Year after year, the \u201cfunny little egg shape\u201d approach raises expectations then proceeds to disappoint. This season\u2019s batch trended towards even tighter clustering of pellet-like crystals, harming its scores in both visual appearance and our tasting process. Maybe next year. 0.5\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grey: Nope NOPE nope this is just gravel, cannot recommend. -1\/10<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A note on methodology: in our blind testing, sampling teams tasted salts found on streets and sidewalks alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}