What is kosher salt?
Kosher salt is a relatively coarse-grained, high-purity salt that was originally used to make kosher meat. Its purpose was to remove all the blood from the meat and ensure that it met the requirements of kosher food law. Over time, it became recognized as kosher salt and was used everywhere.
What is the difference between salt and kosher salt?
First of all, salt needs to be defined. In our culture, salt refers to table salt, which is used in households, and refined salt, which you can find in most restaurants. It comes in round cardboard containers with a spout.
Kosher salt has coarse particles that are easily visible to the eye.
How does it work?
Salt is a crystal, so there are different ways to make crystals. If the sodium and chlorine atoms are as close together as possible, salt with finer and heavier particles (table salt) is produced. If the crystals are more open, the salt is lighter and finer (kosher salt).
What do they have in common? the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of kosher salt, this is about 39 g. If 1/4 cup of table salt is used instead of kosher salt, it is about 76 g, which is about twice the extra salt in the recipe. And if you use table salt instead of kosher salt, the dish will be saltier.
There are two brands of kosher salt: Morton’s (blue box) and Diamond Crystal (red box). Over Morton’s, Diamond Crystal is lighter and has larger grain.Recipes often list 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal and 1 teaspoon Morton’s, which is the difference between the two brands. Ask any chef about their favorite cuisine and 99% will recommend Red Box.
When to use it?
Kosher salt is very versatile. If you have salt on hand, use kosher salt. It has a coarse texture and dissolves quickly, making it ideal before, during and after cooking.
There are two main brands of kosher salt: Diamond Crystal and Morton. They are produced differently and have different properties, leading to slightly different results. Nosrat prefers Diamond Crystal and uses it in all the recipes in her book. It dissolves twice as fast as Morton’s coarse salt, making it an excellent choice for seasoning by feel rather than weight.
Kosher salt vs. table salt:
So why do you use kosher salt in your cooking? Here are the main Iodized Salt vs Kosher Salt and the reasons why Alex and I always use kosher salt in our cooking.
– Kosher salt has wider and larger grains than table salt. The larger grains allow food to be brined more gently than when using table salt. Using kosher salt enhances the flavor of food rather than over-salting it.
– Kosher salt does not contain iodine, which can give a bitter taste to dishes made with table salt. If you eat a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, you already have enough natural iodine in your diet, so you don’t need extra iodine from table salt.
In other words, kosher salt does not contain iodine, which, when salted, enhances the flavor of food and gives it its bitter taste. I only use kosher salt for cooking because it tastes much better than table salt.
