salt has a much harder consistency than flaky salt and feels dry to the touch, with an intense salty flavour. Sold both pre-ground and as rock salt crystals for use in a mill or grinder, rock salt is thought by some to be the most healthy type of salt. This is probably because it is easy to use less of this salt due to its strong taste. Of the many types of rock salts available, Kala Manak is probably the most unusual. Originating in Darjeeling, this rock salt has a black or grey colour with pink tinges and has a notable sulphurous taste. Both the colour and the flavour of Kala Manak are due to the presence of  the minerals magnesium and iron. In Ayurvedic medicine, this gourmet salt is prescribed for digestive problems, while chefs use it to season traditional Indian snack foods, as well as fresh fruit and drinks. Other well-known rock salts are produced in the Andes and the Himalayas. Fleur Del Sel is the French for salt flower and is lauded as being one of the best quality culinary salts available. Moist and granular with a subtle flavour, the methods used to gather Fleur Del Sel make it into one of the most expensive of the salts discussed here. Seawater is gathered in shallow rock-pools along the coastline and as the water evaporates a thin layer of salt blooms on the surface. Usually, this layer of salt will drop to the bottom of the pool and