Salt is Salt – The Rest is Hype
Did you know that there is no difference between sea salt, kosher salt and regular table salt? Well, that is except for size, shape, texture, added ingredients and PRICE.
Yesterday I was listening to Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane while in the car driving to the supermarket to find something for dinner. She was interviewing Robert Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and winner of the James Beard Foundation’s award for a food column he writes at the Washington Post.
He also wrote two books “What Einstein Told His Cook” and the sequel, “Further Adventures in Kitchen Science”. Both are available at Amazon. Just click on the links to learn more.
What is both fascinating and new information for me is that there’s essentially no difference between the various salts on the market. Sodium Chloride is Sodium Chloride.
But the Gourmet marketing gurus have been telling us for years that sea salt has a more exotic salty taste and kosher salt has more flavor but according to the Professor, that’s all a lot of marketing hype.
Hmmm. I do like my sea salt and love to sprinkle it on my tomato; mozzarella with basil and it does seem to taste better. Why?
According to the Professor, the difference is texture. Sea salt is composed of larger, flakier crystals and what you “taste” is the crunchiness of the salt texture not its flavor. When you bite into a larger crystal of sea salt, you get “shots of flavor.”
But when you cook with sea salt and it dissolves into the rest of the ingredients, there is no difference. NaCl = NaCl.
You may have also heard that sea salts contain more minerals than table salt. Again not true according to Wolke. The process of crystallization actually purifies the salt to its basic elements – NaCl.
What about kosher salt?
Kosher salt is no different than any other salt other than it usually has no additives, like iodine, and has large crystals with big surface areas. Because of its size and shape, kosher salt is used in the process of koshering meat to remove any residual blood to allow it to conform to Jewish food laws. By itself, kosher salt is not kosher.
Wolke says that chefs like to use kosher salt because the coarse crystals are easy to handle and measure out with their fingers. You can grab a pinch of it and have something substantial as compared to table salt.
Because the kosher salt has bigger crystal you actually have to use more kosher salt for the same saltiness. This can create problems when you are following a recipe that calls for 1 teaspoon of table salt or 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Here are a few conversions that might help.
1 teaspoon table salt = 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons table salt = 3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt = 1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon kosher salt = 1 1/3 teaspoon table salt
on March 27th, 2006 at 10:28 am
If you are dealing with small amounts, like those mentioned above, then the conversions are okay. But according to the authors of “The New Best Recipe” (the same people who write Cook’s Illustrated), there can be a big difference between brands of kosher salt. I know that for Diamond Crystal kosher salt, they gave a conversion ratio of 2:1. That is, use 2 teaspoons of kosher salt if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of table salt. For a different brand of kosher salt (I think it was Morton’s), they gave a conversion ratio of 1.5:1 — the same one that you mentioned.
Again, this really won’t make a big difference if you are measuring in teaspoons, but if you want to brine something and are using a cup or two of salt, then it can make a difference.
Don’t you love how people go nuts over salt grinders? They don’t seem to understand that salt is a rock and it’s not any fresher if you grind it yourself.
Love your site!
on March 27th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
The Prof is correct when it comes to basic table salt v kosher v sea, but there are literally scores, maybe hundreds of gourmet salt varieties. I’ve never actually used them, but I’ve seen them in gourmet stores and on Iron Chef. They are amost always colored due to impurities being left in the crystal structure.
on March 30th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Don’t make fun of my Salt Grinder! I love it! I know it doesn’t make salt fresher, but it’s what every gal needs…a gimmick!
on March 31st, 2006 at 2:32 am
Yes, I love the salt grinders for entertainment value. There’s a very well known spice brand sold here in Africa that recently added “Freshly Ground Atlantic Sea Salt” to their extensive product range. Now, no weekend meal with friends is complete without the hilarity of a discussion about the need to use such freshly ground salt on our food. Mock tantrums have ensued when one or other guests were forced to use pre ground salt to sprinkle over their plate instead of the freshly ground that their delicate palates favour. What a laugh. I wonder how many people find a ‘genuine advantage’ in freshly grinding their salt not realising they’ve being suckered.
on October 7th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Actually there is a significant difference in different salts. While it is true that NaCl is a constant, salts contain other chemicals and minerals in addition to NaCl. Sea salt has many minerals and other salts in it, table salt generally has iodine added, kosher salt is generally pure. And when it comes to cooking the way each salt dissolves can be quite important to overall taste of the final dish.
on November 12th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
There’s a tremendous difference between certain types of salt and I agree with David…It’s true, NaCl is NaCl and it is a constant, but if a taste test was performed most people would agree there’s a taste difference in salt. Hey, H2O is H2O but there’s a difference in the taste from brand to brand and state to state!
As for the gourmet salts, well, I have to admit, I use them. I notice a difference in taste when using higher quality and smoked salts used for finishing. If use directly in the cooking process there’s no diffeence, unless the smoked salts are used.
For the record, I don’t consider sea or kosher salt as gourmet. I purchase both at my local supermarket for the purpose of cooking. Finer salts used for finishing which are more pleasing to the palet can be found and bought over the internet.
Great Site!
on January 20th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I am commenting from a health stand point. I was told not to use salt because I was retaining an excess of water which caused my blood pressure to shoot up. My ankles looked like tennis balls! I stopped using table salt in cooking, on top of foods and little to no eating out. I was told by another Dr. I wasn’t getting enough salt and to buy sea salt. I use tons more (sea) salt than before and dropped 10 lbs and no more swelling. My blood pressure is great! I wonder what is in table salt that isn’t on the lable? or Why does sea salt work different in the body?
Any answers?
Thanks!
on February 9th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I would like to know where I can buy Kosher Diamond sea salt. Please help thank you
on May 29th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Actually Mike is correct in that for sea salts the mineral content change the taste dramatically, as well as smoked salt.
More importantly even though the professor is technically correct that NaCl is NaCl, the shape of the crystals, surface area, have a HUGE effect on rate of solubility and chemical reaction with the food - hence why kosher salt is used for rubs and other things - the surface area of the crystals behave differently when marinating, curing, smoking or cooking, so I think the professor was oversimplifying things a good deal, perhaps he did not do enough “lab” work on this one.
Alton Brown did an entire episode on “Good Eats” called “eat this rock” which on Foodnetwork was Episode EASP03 , transcript available here:
((http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/GEFP/index.htm))
Amazon will ship diamond crystal kosher salt.
Good luck and happy cooking!