So, from yesterday’s floor-length black lace to today’s boiled eggs with salt – that’s quite a fall. But this is how we roll on this postmodern blog! Still, if I wanted to make a point, I could say that the dress and the Viking Smoked Salt have something in common – both belong to ‘the minimum effort, maximum impact’ category. But let’s put theory aside for a moment and focus on the salt itself.

First of all, it’s not really a salt, it’s a spice mix that includes salt, pepper, curry powder and onion. I’m also not sure that Vikings would recognize this as the ancient salt of their forefathers (curry? in 9th century Norway??), but the technique of smoking salt over wood is apparently theirs: ‘it involves evaporating seawater over a juniper, cherry, elm, beach and oak-wood fire, infusing the salt with smoky bonfire notes.’

Honestly, I don’t really care how they make the stuff. It’s just addictive and makes everything better. The mixture tastes intense and smoky and salty and spicy-earthy. It’s genius on eggs, with any creamy and delicate soup (asparagus, courgette, Jerusalem artichoke) or potatoes. If I don’t know what to do with white fish or celery root, I just add some Viking magic. On the website they say it can be added to Bloody Marys and this seems like an excellent idea as well. In fact, the closest thing to this salt in function – if not in exact taste – is celery salt.

As far as I can see, this specific Viking salt is sold only by the Sous Chef in UK. I have ordered stuff from them and it has been extremely fast and painless, but I’m not sure how it’d work for my American readers (I have American readers! I can still not quite believe this).

It has also recently come to my attention that the Viking Sea Salt can now be purchased by 500g instead of the measly 100g that will be gone before you can say Freydis Eriksdottir.