While all salts are technically kosher, they are not all KOSHER salt! What is the difference between table salt and kosher salt?
All salt is sodium chloride.
The difference between the salt options we have in the store starts
with where they were mined/harvested and ends with the refining process.
Diamond
Crystal is my favorite kind of kosher salt. The sodium chloride is
blown into a stainless steel box and permitted to dry and form
crystals. These crystals are scraped off the box, and the process is
finished. Giving you lovely large salt crystals with no additional
ingredients. (Some kosher salts, like Morton’s, add sodium
ferrocyanide to help the salt not clump. I notice a flavor difference
in my food – and only use Diamond Crystal. )
Table salt is
highly refined and contains ingredients like iodine and some sort of
free-flow agent, like the sodium ferrocyanide in Morton’s kosher salt.
This results in a salt that consists of singular grains and doesn’t
clump. Perfect, I suppose, for a saltshaker. (I don’t own a
saltshaker!)
Pure salt is a flavor enhancer. Added just the
right amount, you will be able to taste all the flavors in your food,
without tasting salt. This, clearly, is the goal. Table salt doesn’t
allow you to achieve this goal. The iodine flavor is bitter and
strong, and will dominate the flavor profile of your meal.
I do
a simple experiment in my cooking classes to demonstrate this. I boil
1 carrot, ½ onion and 1 celery stalk in 1 quart of water for 45 minutes
to an hour. I then strain it, and add 1 pinch of salt to the first
serving, 2 pinches to the second, 3 pinches to the third… people find
it hard to believe the only difference in the three broths is the
amount of kosher salt. Then I do the same with the table salt. You
never achieve the same flavor. You end up with salty, flavorless broth.
If
you use kosher salt with your baking, keep in mind that 1 t. of table
salt and 1 t. of kosher salt will not yield the same amount of salt.
Kosher salt contains more air due to the unrefined crystal structure.
Baking is chemistry, and you have to have enough of ‘A’ and ‘B’ to get
a proper ‘C’. Most boxes will tell you the volume difference between
kosher and table salt. Ideally, however, you could simply weigh your
ingredients – as the volume doesn’t change the weight.
Some
chefs/bakers don’t like to use kosher salt in their baking items
because it doesn’t always fully dissolve because of its unique shape.
If your recipe has limited amounts of liquid, you might want to stick
with table salt. I simply make sure I brake up the salt with my hands
when I add it. I haven’t experienced a problem. Just play with it,
and you’ll know what is best for your cooking/baking habits.
Have
you ever been to a high-end restaurant that offers you a saltshaker on
the table? No! The chef wants you to taste the food as they have
prepared it. Then, if you want salt, and you can ask for it, they
bring you a small bowl of kosher salt. The bottom line is that salt
can either enhance or ruin the flavor of your food.
So, toss that saltshaker, get a finger bowl – and start enhancing the flavor of your food!
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