5 Great American Salts

This large-flaked salt is a favorite of chefs like April Bloomfield. Ben Jacobsen harvests the waters of Oregon’s Netarts Bay to make it. Try the ghost chile salt in a Bloody Mary. jacobsensalt.com.

Maria Finn lives on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, and makes salt from Pacific Ocean water and seaweed from nearby beaches. Her gomasio, a Japanese sesame salt, is delicious—a blend of black sesame, sea salt and kombu seaweed. getlightlysalted.com.

This coarse, round-crystal salt has a nice crunch and the super-briny flavor of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod—it’s a great all-purpose finishing salt. Hope Schwartz-Leeper and Zachary Fagiano launched the company while still in college. wellfleetseasaltcompany.com.

Sitka, where Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. is headquartered, is a remote island surrounded by the Gulf of Alaska. Jim and Darcy Michener produce a thin-flaked, delicate sea salt from the clean, cold waters, flavored with local ingredients like Sitka spruce. alaskapureseasalt.com.

Lifelong Mainers Steve and Sharon Cook evaporate water from Buck’s Harbor to make their salts, the best of which is a pungent hickory-smoked version that’s killer on grilled steaks. maineseasalt.com.