Try locally made finishing salt, microgreens and sourdough.
By Marilyn Hawkes | Photography by Angelina Aragon
Artisanal Finishing Salt
SEE SALT
seesalttaste.com
When Jessica Helgeson was growing up, her mom, Terri Mapel, finished all the family’s dishes with a sprinkle of fleur de sel, also known as French finishing salt. “It’s what you do at the end to enhance a dish – a beautiful sliced tomato, a bit of steak, scrambled eggs,” Helgeson says. “In other countries, this is a very common way to use salt, but in America, we shake processed table salt that has chemicals to prevent clumping.” The mother-daughter duo, who share a love of cooking, started importing sea salt from Île de Ré, France, harvested three months a year by workers who rake the delicate top white crust from dried salt water. Today, Helgeson and Mapel make a variety of flavored, mineral-rich fleur de sel ($18.95 each), including Garlic, Herbes de Provence and their newest creation, French Butter, a luscious seasoning made with grass-fed butter that makes every dish pop. “It’s a showstopper,” Helgeson says. Find SEE SALT at AJ’s Fine Foods and Uptown and Gilbert Farmers Markets.
Valley-Grown Microgreens
Urban Roots Farms
urbanrootsfarms.com
Former physical therapist Robb Blackaby became interested in growing microgreens after learning about their potential health benefits. Along with partners Warren Griffith and Ryan Keely, he subsequently co-founded Urban Roots Farms, a sustainable indoor farm in the Scottsdale Airpark specializing in microgreens – young vegetable and herb seedlings with concentrated flavors and vibrant colors. Customer favorites include broccoli, arugula and cilantro (starting at $6 each for 2 oz.) as well as the Mighty Greens Medley (starting at $6 for 2 oz.), a microgreen salad that features a bright blend of pea, sunflower, radish and kale. Customers often sprinkle the nutrient-dense seedlings over eggs, soup and pasta, Blackaby says. “[They] can contain up to 40 times more nutritional value compared to their mature counterparts.” Urban Roots Farms greens are a staple at Eat Clean Phx organic meal delivery service and served locally at Valley restaurants Arboleda and Tryst. They’re also available for Airpark pickup.
Sourdough Everything
L. Mae Farms
lmaefarms.com
During quarantine, when yeast was in short supply, Lindsay Hitte learned how to make sourdough starter. In 2023, Hitte, who owns L. Mae Farms in Florence with her husband, Clement, scored a coveted spot at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market to sell her tangy sourdough bread ($8, sliced or unsliced) made with organic flour, pink Himalayan salt and filtered water. “People always tell me the bread tastes just like their grandmother’s or their mom’s sourdough.” Hitte’s loyal customers also enjoy her sourdough waffles ($8 for eight), sourdough cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting ($15, half dozen; $26, dozen) and sourdough bagels ($8 for four). And if you’re looking for grass-fed yogurt or grass-fed raw cow’s milk (all organic), you’ll find those products along with sourdough starter and other goodies at the L. Mae Farms booth at Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market. Some offerings are pre-order only for pickup at the market.
