Artisan salts

Remember when olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette gift sets were all the rage? Fast forward to Christmas 2006, and you'll want to know about artisan salt – especially if you have a foodie on your gift list.

The Woodinville-based company SaltWorks is a purveyor of fine salts from around the world – and the Northwest. If your salt vocabulary is limited to "kosher" and "iodized," you may be surprised by some of SaltWorks' unusual varieties: Cyprus black lava salt, red Hawaiian sea salt and Himalayan pink salt, for example.

For an inspired foodie gift, we recommend the Smoked Salt Trio gift set ($59.95), which includes three 5-to-7-ounce jars of palate-pleasing salts, including Salish Alderwood Smoked Salt (an organic sea salt smoked over Northwest red alderwood, which gives off a savory smokehouse taste), Fumée de Sel – Chardonnay and Oak Smoked Salt (premium salt crystals that are cold smoked with the oak from wine barrels that have been used to age fine chardonnay wine), and Bali Coconut and Lime Smoked Salt (hand-harvested sea salt that is slowly smoked over coconut shells and kaffir lime leaves). The set also comes with a stylish serving tray for perfect tabletop presentation.

Want to go all out? For $114, you can die and go to a very salty heaven with the Bamboo Salt Sampler. This gourmet salt collection includes 24 mini glass jars, each with a hand-milled cork top. The entire set is displayed in an elegant bamboo presentation box.

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