Key Takeaways
Table salt is fine-grained, often iodized, and dissolves quickly but can taste metallic, making it easy to overseason dishes.
Kosher salt has larger, flakier grains, a clean flavor, and is less salty by volume than table salt, with variations among brands.
Gradually season dishes, taste frequently, and layer salt during cooking to build balanced flavors, measuring by weight.
I don’t remember much from high school chemistry class, but I do recall that salt is literally elemental. When sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) join forces, they become one of the most fundamental features of a balanced and delicious dish. (Just ask Samin Nosrat, who coached us through how to harness the powers of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to become a better cook and baker.)
Since all types of salt are made up of those two simple building blocks, you might think that what’s in your shaker is exactly the same as the kosher salt sold by the box and flakes of Maldon that you can buy by the bucket. However, reviewing Ina Garten’s One-Pot Oven Risotto reminded us that there’s an important difference between a couple of the most common types of salt—and this might be why many of your recipes end up tasting under- or over-seasoned.
Meet Our Expert
Erin Clarke, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based recipe developer and the author of Well Plated Everyday
Lauren Grant-Vose, recipe developer and founder of Zestful Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Yumna Jawad, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CEO and founder of Feel Good Foodie and the author of The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced with Mediterranean Flavors
The Surprising Reason Why So Many of Your Recipes Taste Too Salty
When a recipe calls for “salt” in the ingredient list, “it’s generally assumed that this refers to classic table salt,” explains Sarah Brekke, M.S., Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen brand manager.
Still, it’s easy to gloss over the fact that a growing number of recipes call for kosher salt, which is noticeably different from table salt in flavor and texture. Knowing when to use one or the other—and how to convert kosher salt to table salt (or the reverse) when you only have one on hand—is crucial to ensure your recipes are well-seasoned and really shine.
What Is Table Salt?
Table salt is the fine crystals that you’ll find in most salt shakers. Since the granules are so small, they dissolve quickly (often a great thing) but also make it very easy to overseason your food, since each pinch packs a very salty-tasting punch.
Table salt is often “iodized,” Brekke notes, which means that iodine has been added. While iodine is helpful in that it’s “a key mineral needed by the body for thyroid function and hormone production,” according to Brekke, it can affect the flavor.
“Table salt has a metallic taste because of the iodine that’s added. It also often has a slightly metallic, almost bitter aftertaste from the anti-caking agents added to keep it free flowing,” says Erin Clarke, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based recipe developer and the author of Well Plated Everyday. Do a side-by-side tasting with kosher salt, and you’ll be shocked by the difference.”
What Is Kosher Salt?
“Kosher salt is pure sodium chloride with no other trace minerals, anti-caking agents, or iodine,” Brekke clarifies. “The size of the grains is also larger than those of table salt.”
Although not all types of kosher salts are actually kosher (look for “kosher-certified” on the label if this is a priority for you), the name does have its origins related to ancient Jewish culinary practices. Coarse-grained salt has been used for centuries to drain blood from meat; eating meat that contains blood is against kosher dietary laws (kashrut).
“Kosher salt has a larger, flakier grain that gives you more control when seasoning. Kosher salt crystals are bigger and more irregular in shape, so they don’t pack together as tightly as tiny table salt granules. That means 1 teaspoon of kosher salt is less salty than 1 teaspoon of table salt,” Clarke says. “And let’s talk about flavor: kosher salt is clean and bright. I am telling you, once you taste the difference, you don’t go back.”
Due to the “clean, pure taste it imparts to a dish,” Brekke verifies that many chefs prefer kosher salt over table salt.
How to Substitute Table Salt for Kosher Salt (and Vice Versa)
As a general rule of thumb, many folks like to estimate that kosher salt is “half as strong” as table salt since kosher salt is less dense and has a larger and less uniform crystal size. But that’s not entirely accurate, warns Yumna Jawad, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CEO and founder of Feel Good Foodie and the author of The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced with Mediterranean Flavors. “The actual difference can vary based on the type of kosher salt and even the brand.”
It’s also important to keep in mind that as the amount of salt in the recipe increases, the more the ratio becomes apparent, Brekke says. Measuring salt by weight rather than volume, when possible, can be helpful. Here’s how our Test Kitchen sorts things out on the scale, when using three of the most common types of salt:
1 teaspoon table salt = 6 grams
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt = 2.8 grams
1 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt = 4.8 grams
Lauren Grant-Vose, recipe developer and founder of Zestful Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, knows that not everyone owns a food scale, so she crunched the numbers to share how these conversions work out volume-wise:
¾ teaspoon table salt = 1 ¾ teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt = 1 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon table salt = 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt = 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt
“Since different brands of kosher salt have different crystal sizes—Diamond Crystal is less salty per teaspoon than Morton’s because the grains are bigger—I recommend picking one brand and sticking with it to keep your seasoning on point,” Clark suggests.
Tips to Season Like a Pro
As a refresher, here’s what you need to know about kosher salt vs. table salt:
Table salt is fine, found in shakers, and often has a faintly metallic taste since iodine and anti-caking agents are added.
Kosher salt is pure sodium chloride, more coarse, offers a clean flavor, and offers a less concentrated salt flavor per spoonful.
Now that you’re equipped with the facts about why it’s wise to dig a bit deeper when a recipe calls for “salt,” here are a few final tips to season chef-style:
Let your palate be your guide. True, it requires trust when using salt in a baking recipe, but when it comes to cooking, keep some spoons handy. “Just keep tasting along the way and adjusting as you go,” Brekke says, remembering that your personal preference is more important than strictly adhering to the amount of salt asked for in a recipe.
Err on the safe side at first. “Add salt gradually and taste while cooking, because it’s easier to add than to remove,” Jawad says. This is especially true for soups, stews, sauces or anything that you slow cook or pressure cook. Salt levels intensify as these recipes reduce, so season lightly at first, and adjust before serving.
Salt in layers. Although you don’t want to overdo it early on, you also don’t want to wait too long to start layering on the flavor, Clarke warns. As we mentioned in our guide to making restaurant-quality soup, “if you hold off on adding salt until the end, you miss the chance to build balanced flavor, and your dish will taste more salty than it does well-seasoned,” she says, since the salt won’t have time to meld into the rest of the dish.
Be careful with blends. If you’re using seasoning blends (such as za’atar or curry powder) or even packets of flavoring mixes (like dry ranch dressing mix or taco seasoning mix) in a recipe, check the ingredient list for salt or peek at the nutrition label to analyze the sodium content. It can be helpful to taste a little bit of the seasoning on its own to assess how salty it is, Brekke advises. “This can help you determine how much additional salt might need to be added to the final dish.”
Read the original article on Better Homes & Gardens
Dining and Cooking