Cooking With Kosher Salt
The controversy over kosher salt versus salt harvested from the sea continues. People have different opinions on both subjects. What is the answer? Why are sea salts more beneficial to our health?
Because technically, there is no difference between seawater salt or table salt. Salt mined from the sea or the Dead Sea, however, is salt extracted from salt mines above sea level, and it contains a high concentration of magnesium, iron, calcium, and sodium chloride (or salts). Sea salt is used primarily for seasoning the table and in baking foods. Also use it on your table for adding flavor to your food.
There is a slight difference between coarse salt and fine sea salt. coarse salt is typically kosher salt and/or sea salt; it has a lot more sodium in it. This type is great if you need a lot of salt on your food – it’s good for pickling and reheating. Fine sea salt is most often harvested from salt flats in Poland and Germany; it is much less salty than coarse salt, but still contains a high concentration of sodium chloride. If you are not kosher, there are many kosher varieties of sea salt available that has no salt in them. They are still good on their own, but may be a better choice for your diet.
When choosing salt for your cooking, make sure to use kosher salt. Kosher salt is more beneficial to your health because it has the effect of being anti-carcinogenic (can lower cancer risk), and it contains the trace minerals that our bodies need for proper mineral balance. To achieve the best salt texture, experiment with different brands of salt; some have more texture than others, some are crunchier, some more moist, etc. The trick is to find the brand that works best for your type of cooking.
Salt can be tricky to work with for high-end recipes. Many recipes call for table salt, which is basically the normal salt you would use at home. However, kosher salt is more refined and its effect on foods is different. You will want to experiment with both types in order to find the one that enhances the flavor of your recipes the most.
With regard to cooking, kosher salt tends to be less salty than sea salts. The moisture content is substantially less and the texture is closer to rock salt. This makes kosher salt ideal for mixing in with sauces, marinades and other cooking methods where less sodium is needed. Table salt on the other hand is often more salty than you might like – this is because table salt has been stripped of its salt content, so the substance is mostly just sodium chloride.
Kosher salt and sea salt are similar in many ways. Like table salt, kosher is a neutral substance that has the ability to lower and increase the moisture content of food based on the type of meat it is mixed in with. This versatility makes kosher salt a good choice for any kind of meat, although kosher can also be used for fish. In fact, the term kosher is often used interchangeably with fish or poultry salt, which is the most common salt used for fish. Fish can still have a salty taste, however since kosher is just salt water.
To create a salt recipe that works for you, start by choosing your favorite seasoning. Then start creating your own salt recipe by combining the seasoning with the fruits and vegetables that you love the most. You could create a flavor combination that calls for dried orange peels mixed with chopped canned cherries, or any number of other things. Just remember that flavor and salt work well together, so start experimenting today. You never know, you may find an all time favorite salt recipe someday!