Are you a gourmet salt snob, or would you like to be one? Here’s a simple and cheap way to bring your favorite salts anywhere with you. Make a portable gourmet salt kit! I made these for the men in my family for Christmas, but this kit would be a welcome gift for any occasion, including Father’s Day. (And of course, you can make this for the women in your life, too, it’s just so hard to shop for the guys!) And if salt isn’t your thing, how about a portable spice kit, or portable loose tea kit.
Project Estimate:
- Pill dispenser, $1 and up
- Various salts, $1 and up per ounce
- Fine-tipped Sharpie permanent marker, on hand
Total: $2 and up
Making the Kit
There isn’t much to making the kit. Just get a pill dispenser (the weekly with seven spots for medication is good) that latches closed. They sell basic pill dispensers at the dollar store, but I got a large version with a fancy closing mechanism at Target for $2.99. I used a fine-point Sharpie permanent marker to write the type of salt on the back of the section where the salt was contained because I wanted to make sure the recipient would know what kind of salt was inside.
The salts I included in the kit were: Yakima Smoked, Pacific Sea Salt, Hawaiian Red, Sel Gris, Hiwa Kai Black, French Green Blend, and Durango Smoked salt.
I removed the cardboard insert that came with the pill dispenser and flipped it inside out. Then I wrote “Seven Days of Salt” on the top of the cardboard, and the types of salt I used on the bottom. Then I repackaged the container in the original plastic blister pack it came in. See The Handy Housefrau’s portable spice kit at the bottom of the page for a fancier packaging alternative.
Finding Gourmet Salts
To find gourmet salts, check your local health food store. Mine is Limbo in Portland, where they have a whole wall of bulk spices, powders, herbs, salts, and other things. Everything is sold by the ounce, so I was able to get an assortment of gourmet salts for less than $20. They ranged in price from about $.50-3.00 per ounce. You can also check your local upscale kitchen store.
If you don’t have any gourmet salts available locally, you can shop at The Meadow for basically any kind of gourmet salt you can imagine. If you want to make a lot of these kits for gifts, you might be better off buying in bulk at Marky’s.
Portable Spice Kit
I was inspired to make the salt kit by a fantastic portable spice kit made by The Handy Housefrau. She made the kit for camping and vacationing, which is brilliant. Another brilliant detail: she added vintage-inspired labels to her kit. Instructions for making the labeled case at her site: [how to make a portable spice kit]
Her version uses a few additional supplies:
- Paper and computer printer
- Mod Podge
- Fingernail clippers and nail file
- Various spices
15 Comments
Kelly H
That’s very clever. Especially for traveling!
Gail
What an excellent idea. It would be great to see what other ways one could use these pill containers. The labels are an excellent feature.
Kathy V.
It’s a great idea! Well Done Heather!
Michelle
This is a great idea. I’m just thinking that this would be great to do for the spices in a recipe you make a lot so you just have to grab your small kit instead of lots of jars!
Jenn Erickson/Rook No. 17
This is such a wonderful gift/craft idea for campers and foodies alike! Thank you!
mikeasaurus
Smart. I’ve had my eye on some pillboxes I saw at the store recently, and now I know my next project.
Samantha
Great idea and a great little gift.
urthwalker
http://lifehacker.com/#!5745891/were-all-smiles-in-this-weeks-open-thread?comment=36328432
ml
i tried the portable spice kit in the pill caddy and it didnt work. i used cinnamon as a test spice and it leaked all over the place. so its a cool idea but save your money
sue palko
How can I get labels for the Spice Pill container? Is there a place I can print them out in order to glue them on the pill container or where can I find them. Thanks Sue