The Gourmet Sea Salt Sampler

The samples are quite small I admit, but I'd read the reviews before ordering. The person who described each sample as being approximately the size of 4-5 stacked quarters was about right. But if you've done any looking around at other finishing salts, you shouldn't be surprised or feel ripped off by this. $20 (including the shipping) is a pretty low price for this many salts no matter how you look at it. However, these salts are an excellent little collection for really comparing them and figuring out which you'd like to buy more of. Many are incredibly good tasting (although the smoked one dominates the smell unfortunately) and the variety of textures is fantastic. Depending on how you use these (I recommend just using as finishing salts on to accent a dish such as meat, veggies, etc) each one will last a couple of meals. My personal favorites so far are the onion salt (better than any onion salt I've bought at the grocery store), the applewood smoked salt (just plain good flavor...I really want to make a mushroom rissoto for this for some reason), the lovely large crystal salt from brasil (it's crunch is fantastic! I could love this one on anything) and of course the black Cyprus salt that is just plain a texture adventure. There are a few I'm not as fond of (mostly the pinkish ones) though I think that's personal preference...but that's why you should get a sampler first! I'm sure glad I did. These might be small, but it's such a great way to try and compare. I absolutely recommend this.

I bought this salt sampler as a gift for my dad on Father's Day, taking into consideration his infatuation with salt. I've given up debating the health risks of his level of salt intake. Anyway, I thought the gift was pretty random, but he loved it! He loves trying the different salts on various foods, seeing which pairs best with which. PROS - Good variety - Good taste - The dad loves it CONS - The samples are pretty small, but just use it to taste and not in a recipe and you should be fine (they are samples after all) Anyway, I thought it turned out to be a pretty great gift for a salt lover.

I had watched a show on television about different salts, where they are from and uses. I thought this would make a good gift for a "foodie" friend of mine. It was a hit! Nice quality book, very informative, great photos. I'm very pleased as was my friend.

My daughter loved this gift. They are amazing!

This works great if you're wanting to give a nice gift or are looking to explore your culinary skills. As other reviews have stated, this set is roughly the size of two stacked CD cases, and each individual sample is about the size of 5 stacked quarters. This sampler is indeed a bit pricey for something we routinely thing of as common table salt, but the sheer amount of different tastes and textures really does open up a new world of variety to your cooking. When you find those 2 or 3 samples that you simply love, you now know what to get in larger quantities. My only complaint is that some of the "infused" salts weren't loose but rather stuck together in clumps. It took a little work to separate them with my fingers so that they could be spread evenly over what I'm cooking. Alas, they still taste good but it was a bit tedious.

Smaller than I expected, and based on "unrefined, all natural" I wasn't expecting Sriracha, garlic, and Chipotle flavors, along with wine flavor. They are pretty and taste good, but wasn't expecting the colors to come from added stuff.

I received this for Christmas and I love it! I am a salt addict so it was a perfect gift. Just bought one for my good friend. She and her boyfriend are basically vegetarians (they cheat!!!) and they enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients. She saw this laying on my table (forgot to do the "gift wrap" thing) and was intrigued. She was even more pleased when I said it was for her! I just ordered some more of the Tibetan Rose for myself (love the large crystals), I'm ordering the Cyprus Onyx next. Love the crunch and look. Plus, it's not too salty. Great collection, nice to have a variety. Definitely use as a finishing salt, the look and mouth feel add to the enjoyment.

Not “all natural” salts - 1/2 are flavored salts. Labeling is misleading (although this info is included in the “fine print”— subsequent screens, swipe right). Flavored salts look nice but don’t seem to have much taste. Also — containers are very very difficult to open-afraid I may spill the salts if I am able to open a container. Of the 12 salts: 6 -raw, natural salts from around the world 4 -infused salt from USA, no specific source noted 2 -infused salt from outside USA