June 2, 2024

Chef Sean MacDonald says he’s always been a champion of using salt of all kinds — often adding more than “what people would normally do” — but in his Santa Monica restaurant Bar Monette, it takes on a sweeter form.

A house-made vanilla salt, with just a hint of sugar, is used to finish a comforting but cheffy apple fritter conceptualized as an ode to his late Aunt Wendy. The salt blend lends a savory edge to the dessert and helps to augment the natural caramel and apple in the fried doughnut, as well as keeping diners on their toes.

“I’m a big advocate of putting finishing salt on desserts just to have little bites,” MacDonald said. “You have a sweet bite and then the next one, you get a little bit of savory, and the next one, you highlight a flavor with a little bit more intensity from the salt.”

The vanilla salt, developed by MacDonald and chef de cuisine Jeff Whittaker, calls for scraping whole vanilla beans, allowing the salt to absorb the flavor and moisture from the seed paste and the pod shells over the course of five days. MacDonald recommends using this vanilla salt for not only fried desserts but also chocolate tortes, cookies or freshly baked cinnamon buns. Once infused, store Bar Monette’s vanilla salt sealed at room temperature for up to two months — if it lasts that long.

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½ cup kosher salt

2 tablespoons Maldon sea salt flakes

2 whole vanilla beans

2 teaspoons sugar

Combine kosher salt and Maldon salt in an airtight container with a lid. Close lid and shake until combined and the Maldon salt flakes break up a bit.

Cut whole vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife. Place the seeds and scraped pods in the salt. Close the lid on the container and shake for about 30 seconds, until everything is combined well.

Place the container on a shelf, at room temperature, for 5 days. Shake the mixture once a day for about a minute; this ensures the seeds break up and disperse throughout the mixture. This also guarantees the pods move around and the moisture and oils are extracted into the salt, drying everything out.

After 5 days, add the sugar. Shake vigorously for another minute to combine, and enjoy. Use vanilla salt as a garnish or to season baked goods and sauces.

Stephanie Breijo

Stephanie Breijo is a reporter for the Food section and the author of its weekly news column. Previously, she served as the restaurants and bars editor for Time Out Los Angeles, and prior to that, the award-winning food editor of Richmond magazine in Richmond, Va. Born and primarily raised in Los Angeles, she believes L.A. to be the finest food city in the country and might be biased on that count but doesn’t believe she’s wrong.