Most Common Types of Salt: Where they come from and when to use them.

 

More and more these days I am hearing a lot more about "salt". This can be and often is quite confusing - especially when you want to make sure you are using the correct type of salt for your recipe or project. Key take away - all editable salts (that taste good) are sodium chloride. As usual, I will make this as simple and straight forward as possible so you can feel confident when picking your next salt!

 

1. Table salt 

Think "Mortons" with the little girl with an umbrella. Most US table salts contain iodine and anti-caking agents. This is a highly processed salt that has most of the minerals removed. This salt can be used (obviously) in table sprinklers, cooking, and baked goods. You would NOT use this for pickling, fermenting, making brine or curing. The added chemicals can cloud your brine and potentially create an off flavor. "Table salt" is typically mined from underground deposits.

Why add iodine? Because in the 1920's, goiters were a significant health problem. This is an irregular growth of the thyroid gland, which is located at the base of the neck, and often caused by iodine deficiency. In 1924 salt began being sold with iodine added.

 

2. Sea Salt

Traditionally speaking, Sea Salt is made from evaporating salty sea water. This most often is done in areas where the weather is warm and sunny. Although, in the US, the "sea salt" might not come from a sea that is still around. Technically, all salt at one point came from the sea - sometimes it is a sea that evaporated long ago leaving it's salt behind. There are FDA purity requirements that need to be met, and if this is the case, it can be called Sea Salt. Sea salt can be found in many different colors depending on the clay, minerals and algae inside it. Sea salt can be used for pickling and fermenting, but can vary in saltiness and minerals. Sea salt may take longer to pickle and has the potential to add some cloudiness to the brine, depending on the minerals inside the salt. Sea salt can be substituted for table salt and used in recipes. Keep in mind that it does come in different size grains. The smaller the grain, the easier it is to dissolve. Standard Sea Salt does not have added chemicals such as iodine or anti-caking agents.

 

3. Kosher salt

 

Bottom line - this is a course, editable kitchen salt. It is typically used in cooking, brines, fermenting, and in a salt grinders. This salt is not necessarily produced under any religious guidelines - unless specified on the packaging. It became commonly known in the US because of its use in the Jewish religious practice of dry brining meats, known as kashering. It does not contain Iodine, anti-caking agents or other additives that can make an off flavor or cloud brine. This is a processed salt, and comes in different crystalline shapes, depending on the factory it comes from.

 

4. Himalayan Pink Salt

This is another edible table salt. It is mined in the Punjab region of Pakistan. It has the same sodium content as regular salts, and contains natural minerals that cause it to be pink. As far as health benefits, from what I can find, the additional minerals in Himalayan Salt are so minor that the amount of salt one would have to consume would outweigh the benefit. It is also quite a bit more expensive than that of sea salt or kosher salt. In my opinion, it is worth it if you want pretty salt to accompany a dish, but otherwise Kosher or Sea salt is a better choice. That being said, it can be used for brines, pickles, seasoning and cooking. 

5. Pickling Salt

For me, this is where my salt journey began. I was uncertain about which salts I could use in my pickles, and ferments. Simply put, pickling salt is just plain, pure salt (sodium chloride). It does not have additives like iodine, or anti-caking agents that can make a brine cloudy. It is also a fine grain, so it dissolves quickly. As the name implies, this is the best salt for pickling.
 

6. Epsom Salt

Okay - I know this is not a typical "salt". It's chemical compound is different (magnesium sulfate), but is a "salt" because of it's structure. Technically, Epsom salt is editable, but it tastes horrible and is used as a laxative. More commonly Epsom salts are dissolved into a bath to help with sore muscles or used in beauty products.