THE SALTED ROOTS

When you first meet The Salted Roots founder, Ivy Sommer, you quickly sense the alchemy that makes her tick — part culinary talent and part curiosity mixed with fearless experimentation. 

What began as one woman’s kitchen experiment with a jar of coarse salt and a splash of red wine has become a sought-after artisan brand with a lineup of 15 salts and sugars across Utah and beyond. She has taken simple salt and sugar and turned them into delicious, flavor-infused products that enhance drinks and bites across all three daily meals.

Flavor With a Story

For Ivy, whose career has always been in restaurants and hospitality, The Salted Roots is about reconnecting people with ingredients. “I really want to inspire people to cook again,” she says. “These salts and sugars are about getting creative again in your own kitchen. It’s like a science project.”

That philosophy is evident in every product. Take the brand’s founding flavor, Red Wine Salt, an all-in-one seasoning that can make a home cooked meal a masterpiece. Ivy, with her husband and business partner Koby, cast-iron smoke it for extra depth — a small-batch process that gives it a rich, earthy finish perfect for salad dressings, lamb chops, pastas, and red sauces.

Each of The Salted Root’s flavors has a story, and often, a spark of spontaneity. “The Breakfast Salt came to me after a nap,” Ivy admits. “I literally dreamed it up.” That maple-bacon-vanilla bean salt turned out to be a best seller that outsells all others by double digits. 

Her favorite way to use it? “It’s amazing on sweet potato mash with cream cheese, green onions, and coconut milk,” she suggests. “That maple with the sweet potato is so good.”

It also brings out the flavors of roasted squash, breakfast sandwiches, and adds intrigue when sprinkled on buttered popcorn.

Their spicy Tequila Salt has stirred some unexpected creations too, thanks to the bright and citrusy notes that make it surprisingly versatile — far beyond rimming a margarita glass. Kids ask for the sweet-spicy-herbal combination to shake on apple slices.

“One of our friends made cilantro lime shortbread cookies, glazed them, and sprinkled it on top,” she says. “They were the craziest thing, and the most magical thing ever.” 

The Red Rock Zen salt, infused with wasabi, green onion and ginger, was designed to push Ivy outside of her cooking comfort zone. “I wanted to be inspired to cook more Asian food,” she recalls, having recently tried it on cast-iron grilled steak with coconut aminos and a citrus glaze. “It ties it together perfectly and brings out that flavor even more.”

The Thai Basil salt is a striking black finishing salt that tastes incredible on roasted vegetables, noodle bowls, Asian-inspired dishes, and charcuterie boards. “You get this burst of flavor with whatever cheese you pair it with,” Koby explains.

Local restaurants are incorporating The Salted Roots’ infused salts and sugars into cocktails and dishes, too. Drunken Kitchen uses the Thai Basil in their cocktails, while Oquirrh shakes on the Pumpkin Spice Sugar in theirs. 

Pumpkin Spice Sugar is a seasonal favorite that can also be added to cookie dough or pancake batter for holiday baking, dusted over roasted nuts, added to oatmeal for a festive touch, and sprinkled on coffee drinks to make them extra cozy. 

For inspiration, Ivy explains, “PIKO downtown uses our salts and sugars on their entire bar menu. The Tequila Salt goes on all their margaritas, the Dill Pickle Salt on their Bloody Marias, and they have a pink lemonade cocktail with our Bluebird Dandelion Sugar.”

The Bluebird Dandelion Sugar is a beautiful finish on roasted fruits and in jams and syrups. Top scones and muffins with a dash or make a compound butter to easily bring joyful flavors to breakfast toast. 

“We’re even putting together a salt-and-drink pairing guide,” Ivy states, for even more ideas.

Where to Taste The Salted Roots

While you’ll find The Salted Roots products at most of the larger farmers markets along the Wasatch Front and Back, the company’s reach has already expanded beyond Utah. “We’re in 14 retail locations from St. George to Heber and a pop-up in New York City,” Ivy says. “And we just started a partnership with a very well-known California winery. They want us to use their wines in our salts.”

Inspiring the Table Again

The Salted Roots is bringing people back to the table one shake at a time as it becomes a kitchen necessity. “I want people to be inspired to cook, to eat healthy, to gather with friends and family, to create something new, or try something they haven’t before,” Ivy concludes.