Williams-Sonoma Artisan Stories: Ben Jacobsen of Jacobsen Salt Co.

This week, we’re highlighting some of America’s most esteemed food makers and innovators. Today’s featured artisan: Ben Jacobsen of Jacobsen Salt Co.

Ben Jacobsen was studying in Denmark when he sampled his first taste of artisan salt. “It elevated each bite of food,” he recalls. When he returned to the Pacific Northwest, he brought that enthusiasm for a quality salt product with him. “People were buying fish and produce from farmers’ markets, but the one thing people would buy from elsewhere was good salt,” he says. “That was strange to me.” His company, Jacobsen Salt Co., has been the first to harvest salt in the region since Lewis and Clark.

At its production facility, located right on the coast of Oregon’s untouched Netarts Bay, every single flake is inspected by hand. “Salt is so easily overlooked,” says Jacobsen, “but I truly believe it’s the single most effective way to elevate food.”

Because Jacobsen’s process involves slowly evaporating water until it naturally forms salt crystals, his finishing salts have large, coarse flakes, a beautiful sheen, and complex flavor. Learn some of Ben’s favorite ways to use salt, and check out our wide selection of Jacobsen Salt Co. products.

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