Before the invention of refrigerators, the only way to sustain foods was to smoke them or to salt them. During medieval times, salt was such an expensive and rare commodity that it was called, “white gold.” Now, due to refrigeration, we don’t need to cure our food anymore. But salt is still the most popular flavor enhancer around.
Distinguishing Among Common Types of Salt:
Have you ever watched a cooking show where the host only uses Kosher Salt or Sea Salt? It happened to me. I had only used table salt before to season and flavor my meals. But when I began watching Food TV, I noticed an interesting trend. Most of the chefs didn’t use table salt regularly in their cooking. Most often they used Kosher Salt. I decided to give it a try. It was larger and flakier than table salt, but the flavor surprised me. It was actually milder than table salt. It dissolved easily in recipes and provided a lovely flavor to my dishes. Now, I rarely use anything else.
However, if you’re flavoring something that will not be cooked, you may want to stick with table salt if you prefer a finer texture. My advice? Be adventurous! Try different salts and find which one suits you and your cooking methods best.
Types of Salt:
Rock Salt – Chunky in size and strong in flavor. This salt is commonly used in ice-cream making. This salt should not commonly be used for cooking or baking.
Table Salt -This is the most commonly used salt. It is rock salt that has been ground very finely. Table salt comes iodized or non-iodized. The iodine is added as a way to prevent hypothyroidism. This is because long ago, people who didn’t live near the sea didn’t always get enough iodine in their diets. Iodized salt was used to prevent goiter. This salt can be used in all meals and baked goods, and is often served as a condiment at dinner tables.
Kosher Salt – This is a slightly chunky, flaky, and mild salt that dissolves easily. It gets its name because it is used to kosher meat, that is, to draw out the blood in meat and make it kosher to eat. This salt is less “salty” than other salts because it does not contain additives, and the makeup of crystals is fluffier than that of other salts. When using this salt in a recipe, it’s often a good idea to add a little more than you would if you were using table salt because there is less sodium chloride in Kosher Salt. This salt can be used to prepare any meal.
Sea Salt – This salt is course but surprisingly not overpowering in taste. It comes from the Mediterranean or Atlantic Sea. It is a pure salt and does not contain anti-caking agents, which means it retains moisture. It can be used to prepare any meal.
**For some baking recipes, you should only use table salt. Be sure to see if the recipe allows for other kinds of salt before making substitutions.
**The best way to tell the difference between salts is to see and taste them. Buy a few varieties, pour a little amount of each in piles on your counter or on a plate and taste each one.
What’s your favorite salt and why? I’d love to hear from you.