This dazzling fuchsia, tropical herb salt is a timestamp from my early days in Masaya, Nicaragua — the place that first cracked open my sense of wonder. Its backdrop is the juicy cactus fruit — pitaya —fruit I witnessed growing along tin-roofed, dirt-floor countryside houses, its flesh glowing with an unreal magentine-fuchsia intensity, its imprint embedded in my sense of wonder. Blended with lime into agua fresca, it marks a first sip into the deeply unfamiliar — a sensory impression carried potently in this salt, the way Masaya’s volcanic drop into cyanine-teal swimming holes seared itself into memory — electric, impossible to forget. As with the colors of Masaya, the shape-shifting largeness of this herbal salt reveals itself only through full immersion of the bright, smokey and fruit-forward “tanglements”. Its tiny, layered variances — push for taste exploration, wander and noticing. Invigoratingly tart Persian lime and garden lime leaf meet the subtle pear- and melon-like sweetness of pitaya. Tender and vibrant winter herbs — parsley, cilantro, mint, verbena, lemongrass — add a mature, bright green electricity. Green peppercorn brings volcanic earthiness, while chili cascabel offers restrained, lava-like warmth beneath soft puffs of smoked paprika, cumin and achiote. This is warm, savory and shockingly alive, it celebrates Nicaragua and its foods — fried plantains, gallo pinto, bistec, lime-doused cabbage curtido — but it demands a bit of risk in use. It electrifies fried rice, winter radishes, green salads, fish, and seafood. Use it with risk taking adventure mind, a little like jumping into a volcano for a swim. This salt is the result of a jump taken.