SEASONINGS

THE SALTED ROOTS
From Earth to Essence

By Tamara S. Wolfe | Photography by Rebecca Kay

SALT AND SUGAR ARE TWO OF THE OLDEST INGREDIENTS KNOWN TO HUMANKIND. Traded like treasure. Shared in ceremony. Stored in satchels and passed across generations. In ancient kitchens and over open fires, they preserved, healed, and nourished.

At The Salted Roots, Ivy Watrous and her husband, Koby Sommer, carry those timeless elements into the present — crafting small-batch salts and sugars that hold more than flavor. They carry memory, inspire celebration, and offer comfort.

Ivy has been drawn to the kitchen since childhood. At eight years old, she was cooking full meals for her family, layering flavors, tasting as she went, learning by doing. “Cooking has always been how I connect with people,” she says. 

Over the years, she immersed herself in the restaurant business, developing an intuitive sense for what makes a flavor feel alive. But in time, she longed for something more soulful — something she could shape with her hands and heart. That’s when she began making infused salts at home. A simple experiment with red wine and salt became a revelation.

“If I can infuse red wine,” Ivy thought, “why not tequila, or whiskey, or the zest of a whole orange?”

The ideas poured in. Her Red Wine Salt became the first of many. Today, she and Koby have handcrafted more than a dozen infused salts and sugars — each created with care, layered with flavor, and infused to the core using full reductions of real ingredients. The process is slow and deliberate, often involving hours of peeling, chopping, smoking, and drying. “I’ve chosen the hardest way to make these,” Ivy says with a smile. “But it’s the only way that feels true.”

There’s something both ancient and modern about what they’re doing. These are pantry items, yes — but they’re also invitations to slow down and gather with others. Every jar from The Salted Roots reflects a spirit of connection that Ivy holds close.

That spirit has been shaped by the people who’ve stood beside her: her mom, who bottled and labeled jars with her late into the night. And her grandpa, whose love of bold, spicy Mexican food lives on in Ivy’s kitchen. “He was like a father to me,” she says softly. “When I’m making spicy food, I feel close to him. It’s how I remember him.”

And then there’s Koby — gentle, steady, and all-in from the beginning. The two met in 2023, just as Ivy was bringing The Salted Roots into the public eye through festivals and farmers markets. “She had me taste the Red Wine Salt on steak during our first date,” Koby recalls. “I was hooked.” Since then, he’s become an integral part of the business — developing recipes, and nurturing a community that has shaped the essence of The Salted Roots.

At farmers markets across Utah, Ivy and Koby have watched strangers become friends, and friends become family. “We’ve had people grab a jar and start telling others to smell it, try it, buy it,” Ivy says with a laugh. “One girl practically sold out a whole batch for us, just because she loved it so much.”

And there are moments that run even deeper — like with Jessica and her son Owen. Jessica longed to support The Salted Roots, but money was tight. Ivy sold her a few jars at a steep discount. “We both cried,” Ivy recalls. “She told me it was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for her.” 

For Ivy, every jar holds a memory. The Breakfast Salt — a blend of maple, bacon, and hand-peeled vanilla bean — was born after she awoke from a nap craving waffles. It’s now a best-seller. The Prickly Pear Chipotle Salt, vibrant and spicy-sweet, honors her childhood in St. George and her love for Mexican cooking. “It’s me, in a salt,” she says.

Then there’s the Whiskey Sugar. Hard to dehydrate, finicky to layer, but now one of the most versatile — used in everything from crème brûlée and smoked ribs to Irish coffee. “That one taught us patience,” Ivy says. “It’s the problem child we never stopped loving despite the challenges.” 

And each product is infused slowly, as Ivy allows each flavor to unfold. “It’s trial and error, layering and waiting,” she says. “But when it’s right, you feel it. And so do the people who taste it.”

The Salted Roots speaks to the intrinsic power of food born from the earth, and the adventurous spirit of trying something new. The western boot on their logo symbolizes a connection to the land, the journey in discovering new ways to savor life, and the indelible moments that nourish us all.

As they grow — with products in restaurants, specialty shops, and homes across the country — Ivy and Koby remain devoted to small-batch integrity and care. “We’ll always be a Utah company,” Koby says. “This is where our roots are.”