Types of Salt and When to Use Them

There are numerous types of salt on the grocery store shelves, so how do you know which one to use? Different types of salt have different textures, sizes, and even flavors, making them suitable for some dishes, but terrible for others. Let's dive into the common types of salt for cooking & baking, and when to use them!

Importance of Salt

• Because sodium chloride is vital to our survival, we are hardwired to crave it, like water. Therefore salt not only enhances flavor; it also satisfies our innate salt craving, increasing pleasure as we enjoy properly salted foods. 
  
• According to Samin Nosrat in her book Salt Fat Acid Heat, “salt has a greater impact on flavor than any other ingredient.” Salt is unique because it not only adds its own flavor, but it also enhances the flavors of other ingredients.
  
• Salt enhances sweetness and balances out/reduces the taste of bitterness.

Types of Salt

There are two main types of salt: sea salt and rock salt. Sea salt is left behind when seawater evaporates. Rock salt is mined from old underground lakes and seas. Therefore, all salt technically comes from the sea, making the term "sea salt" slightly confusing.

Different types of salt have different sizes and textures. This means that some types of salt are better for baking, others are more suitable for cooking, while still others are best as "finishing salts" to sprinkle on finished dishes.

Table Salt

Table salt is the most common salt in the U.S. It's found in salt shakers on dining room tables and restaurants throughout the country, and it's usually iodized.

The addition of iodine to salt can give it a slightly bitter aftertaste, so it’s best to use plain (not iodized) table salt.

Table salt's tiny uniform crystals pour smoothly and dissolve easily because of anti-caking agents that are added to it. However a common anti-caking agent that's often used in table salt is dextrose, which is a form of sugar, to help stabilize the iodine.

This salt is great for sauces, dressings, and baked goods, since it dissolves easily and has a small, uniform size.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is has a coarse, flaky texture. Its name comes from its history of being used for "koshering" meat to remove the blood. Kosher salt is less refined, which means that it's almost pure sodium chloride, and does not contain additives.  

Kosher salt dissolves easily, which means its flavor disperses quickly. In fact, kosher salt dissolves faster than table salt, so it’s ideal in food that’s cooked quickly, along with soup, pasta, etc. Kosher salt is also great for seasoning meat and vegetables.

Due to its large crystal size, it's not great for baking. Kosher salt crystals take up more volume than table salt. So if you’re measuring salt by volume and substituting one for the other, it's better to measure by weight or make a mathematic conversion.

Sea Salt

Sea salt has a soft, flaky texture with large, irregular shapes. Like kosher salt, sea salt generally doesn't contain additives, so it doesn’t have any bitterness like you might find in table salt.

Fleur de sel and maldon salt are both types of sea salt. The process to obtain these salt crystals from seawater evaporation is slow and expensive, so these salts are typically more expensive.

There’s also granular sea salt, which looks similar to table salt. Its small size makes it great for seasoning foods like pasta, stew meat, and baked goods.

Sea salt is great for sprinkling on top of finished dishes like brownies, salad, or roasted vegetables.

Fleur de sel

Fleur de sel translates to “flower of salt”, a name inspired by the flower-like shape of its salt crystals. Fluer de sel is a type of sea salt that forms naturally on the surface of saltwater as it evaporates. This salt has been harvested for centuries in western France.

Fleur de sel is not refined, so it's rich in natural minerals.

This salt is generally more expensive, and it's great as a finishing salt on roasted vegetables, seafood, caramel sauce, and brownies to show off its beautiful shape and add a little crunch.

Sel gris is another type of French sea salt, but it has a gray color due to how it's harvested.

Maldon

Maldon salt is also referred to as "flaky salt". This type of sea salt is harvested in the UK, in the town of Maldon (hence its name).

Each salt crystal has the shape of a small, hollow pyramid, and it adds little pockets of crunchy texture.

Just like fleur de sel, maldon salt is great as a finishing salt sprinkled on finished dishes to add flavor and texture like brownies, cookies, or savory dishes.

Pickling Salt

Pickling salt is also known as canning salt or preserving salt, since it's used to preserve food. It's made of pure granulated salt (sodium chloride), without any additives.

Additives (like those found in table salt) can add a cloudy or darkened appearance to the food you're pickling. Pickling salt is very fine in texture, so it dissolves really quickly. Unobscured pickling brine and quick dissolving action make pickling salt a home canner's go-to.

The best substitute for pickling salt is kosher salt when preserving food. But measure your salt by weight instead of by volume, since kosher salt crystals are much larger than pickling salt crystals. Therefore one teaspoon of kosher salt is actually a lot less salt than one teaspoon of pickling salt.  

Pink Himalayan Salt

The size of pink Himalayan salt can vary. It's known for its pink color, which is caused by naturally occurring minerals.

This salt is great both for cooking and as a finishing salt. Note that it's pink color may change the overall color of food like bread and tortillas.

Summary (TL;DR)

For baking, use table salt that doesn't contain any iodine.

For cooking, use kosher salt.

To add a culinary flair to savory and sweet dishes that demand a little crunchy texture and salty flavor, use flaky sea salt like fleur de sel or maldon.

And for pickling and preserving food, use pickling salt.

Learn More Essential Kitchen Skills

Now that you're an expert in the different types of salt and when to use them, are you ready to dive deeper into expanding your skills in the kitchen? Check out these other helpful posts, and let me know what you've got cooking!

• Essential Knife Skills You Need to Know
• How to Ripen Strawberries
• How Long Can Chicken Stay Out?
• How Long to Boil Spaghetti?
• Lessons I Learned from Salt Fat Acid Heat