Two cases in the back of a truck in Seattle, only contemplated theft for a second. I've been out of this stuff for a month.
Cost: $8 to $11 for 300 grams
Attraction: For the obsessive-compulsive, the label coordinates perfectly with Vignalta's lauded vinos. For the food obsessed, it's magic in a jar.
Where to buy: Online from Wally's Wine and Spirits out of Los Angeles

You really can't be all grown up until the art on your walls no longer resides in poster frames and your salt no longer fits into a shaker. Whether you buy in bulk or get ripped off by the myriad fancy little jars and their cornucopia of fancy little flavors, good salt qualifies as the single most important ingredient in your kitchen. Great salt can turn a simple cut of meat into a steakhouse-worthy masterpiece because salt delivers flavor. Like the waving of a magic wand, a flourish of salt just before presentation punctuates the flavor of a perfect beet, the sweet offal of pate, and the happiness of chocolate.

"Finishing salt" is kitchen speak for a salt that's too expensive or precious to add during cooking. Throw these salts into the pot too soon and you lose their entire nuance. Much like high-end olive oils or fresh herbs, you only get the full benefit of these salts when you add them at the very end of cooking or assembly.

This Northern Italian salt from Vignalta doesn't have the flaky consistency of glass chards like some fine white sea salt, and it stops shy of the distinct crunch of a nice grey salt. Vignalta's finishing salt has a pebbly shape that makes for a light crunch. Studded with rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, I found out last year from the wife of the owner of Vignalta that they add the herbs fresh, allowing the salt to suck the goodness and oil out of each and every leaf. I've tried to duplicate this several times, to no avail. Pungent and subtle, I can only describe it as intoxicating.

I sprinkle Vignalta salt on my eggs in the morning, over a bowl of simple spaghetti in oil. I can't imagine a mixed green salad without it. I introduce it to every roast beast, fish, and fowl. This salt has slowly ingratiated itself into every stew and soup, slowly and surely taking over my kitchen. Guy in the truck, you have no idea how lucky you are, and how close you came to becoming salt-free.

Maggie Savarino Dutton is an industry veteran who has played bartender, sommelier and line cook and who now consults. She writes "Search & Distill," which appears every Wednesday in the Seattle Weekly, and maintains The Wine Offensive, her blog about wine, food, and anything else that might be discussed over the bar.

"Point of Purchase" photograph by Roadsidepictures via Flickr (Creative Commons), "Pantry" photograph by Áslaug Snorradóttir.