When my friends return from mainland trips, I expect a gift from one of my favorite grocery stores.

When I travel, I’ve been known to pack almost an entire extra suitcase of foodstuffs from this particular spot. I love it all: bars of dark chocolate, cookies of every flavor, special party-tray-type crackers, jars of “fancy” pasta sauce and, especially, flavored sea salts. I’ve gone through a few sets of these salts. The one I like best has a little smoky chili added to it. You can sprinkle it over most everything. And I do.

Naturally, I perked up when I got a whiff of bacon salt featured by Forage Hawaii, a company offering locally sourced meats. That got me on two levels of Pavlovian response: bacon, obviously, but a tasty finishing salt imbued with the taste of bacon?! It seems to sell out every week. I snagged a bag, and I’m hoarding this one for myself.

All that got my wheels turning. I ran out of my chili salt, so where could I get some more? The internet did not fail me. I clearly am not alone in my palate interests. And what’s this? People flavoring their own salts?

I decided to tackle making my own spicy salt, using Sriracha. I tracked down the general method and started salivating over the possibilities. I tried different grains of salt (the usual medium-grain was a bust) and different levels of heat. As it turned out I just wanted a little of the Sriracha flavor, just in case my kids grabbed a handful of my popcorn. You could go hotter (I am planning to experiment with Tapatio Hot Sauce next).

I found that flaky salt was the best grain, unless you have a good salt grinder. If you have some fleur de sel, I would use that, but Diamond Crystal Kosher is my everyday go-to for flaky salt, and easier to get in big quantities. This also would be absolutely grand with smoked salt.

Please add this to popcorn, avocado, eggs, steak or just about anything (buttered toast, even!) right before serving. Sprinkle it from your fingertips from high above for added panache.

SRIRACHA SALT

By Mariko Jackson

• 1/2 cup kosher salt (flaky style, Diamond Crystal brand preferred)
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 2 teaspoons lime juice

Mix salt, Sriracha and lime juice in a small bowl until salt is evenly colored. Spread out on a large baking sheet lined with parchment — try not to let clumps form; you’ll want it to dry evenly.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. As soon as it reaches that temperature, turn it off and slip the baking sheet inside. Keep oven door closed and allow salt to dry completely. After two hours, check to see if it’s dry. If it feels wet, allow it to dry another hour.

Stir salt. If it has big clumps, put the mixture in a jar and shake it until all the clumps crumble. You can also pulse it in a food processor. Store in an airtight jar (especially important in the humid Hawaii air). Use immediately and often.

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Nutritional information unavailable.

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com. Her column runs on the last Wednesday of the month. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.