There is a hum in town about the new salt shop, The Salty Sistas, which has opened in The Bush Basket at the Kamogelo Centre. What many people do not know is that salt is the most popular seasoning in the world – but it is not a spice. Hoedspruit now has access to Himalayan salt!
Liezel Maderal Maree is the owner of The Salty Sistas and author of Salty Sistas Himalayan Salt Cooking. Liezel imports the pink Himalayan Salt that is mined in Pakistan, and is what is believed to be the very purest form of salt. It has been preserved on volcanic lava and ice for millennia and does not need to undergo refinement – it is also free from pollutants and micro plastics.
She explains that salt has played an integral role in human history, and is a key ingredient in the contemporary human diet. White salt is the most commonly used salt, but it is refined, heated, bleached and often has iodine and anti caking agents added. As a result the human body does not know what to do with it and views it as a foreign substance. It can take 25 times the amount of water to flush it out of our system. This often leads to high blood pressure and water retention.
Liezel goes on to explain that when one looks at Himalayan salt in its natural form, it contains the same 84 trace minerals and elements that are found in the human body. It is less refined, the fragments are larger, and one consumes less sodium per serving than regular table salt. It also supports heart health, promotes a stable body pH balance, strengthens bones, improves circulation, lowers blood pressure and helps the body absorb nutrients. Himalayan crystal salt is also a natural disinfectant.
Cooking on salt blocks improves the flavour of food and adds more mineral content. Paging through Liezel’s cookbook opens up a whole new world of cooking with Himalayan salt. It has around fifty easy to follow recipes, as well as tips on curing and cleaning your salt block, serving on salt blocks and in salt bowls, and simple tricks for cooking with salt slabs.
The Salty Sistas, with outlets in Johannesburg and Cape Town, now has a presence in Hoedspruit. A portion of the product range includes items from Pakistan, India and Indonesia, as well as her local Shwe Shwe kids clothing range ‘Sistas and Mistas’. There is a vast range of Himalayan salt products that need to be seen. These include salt cooking slabs, chopping boards, salt lamps, candle holders, massage stones, salt scrubs and soaks, inhalers, mud masks, and even animal salt licks. The list goes on.
Liezel is actively getting the word out about cooking with Himalayan salt. She is the guest speaker at the Vroue Landbou Unie gathering in October, and she is available to book for events, team building, private functions and birthday parties.
There will also be Himalayan Salt Cooking demonstrations at the shop on the last Saturday of every month at 12:30, starting on the 25th September 2021.
Other courses have been scheduled for the 30th October and 27th November 2021.
The cooking experience is R450 per person and bookings are essential. Call Liezel on 082 852 5925 to book your place.
