Tuesday, November 9, 2010

What do table, kosher and sea have in common?

So let's talk salt. There are a bunch of varieties, the main ones being table salt, sea salt and kosher salt, but is the only difference price? I got curious so I decided to look it up.
The little blurb I got was from the Food Network and you can find the full thing here.

Essentially it says that table salt has a higher content of has lots of anti-caking elements in it (namely calcium silicate) which allows it to remain in such tiny granules. This type of salt dissolves best because of the tiny granules, making it probably best for bakers. Sea salt comes in many specific varieties since it gains some distinct flavor and coloring based on where it comes from and what sea minerals it carries with it. This salt really loses it's unique flavor when cooked or dissolved, but makes an excellent last minute garnish to add for both its texture and flavor. Kosher salt is the most effective at drawing out moisture due to its large crystalline structure, good for drying meats and other foods, and is easy to grab a pinch of during cooking because of the large flakes.

Are all 3 good to have on hand? Certainly! Are all 3 essential? Definitely not!

If nothing else, this post may at least save you from dumping all that nice sea salt from Aunt Sally into a big pot of water for boiling spaghetti!

Aproveche!
~Kai

No comments:

Post a Comment