Do you 'shake' or 'pinch'.......

[birdyone]

As in salt - being glued to the food network most of the time, they NEVER shake their salt. I buy relatively expensive sea salt, have a relatively expensive 'salt' grinder (if there is really a difference between a pepper one?) that my daughter bought as a gift from one of the 2 and only Williams-Sonoma here on Toronto - it is just crap! I have also purchased in a 'no get back into' McCormick's sea salt grinder - which is great.

My question after all that, do you use a grinder, a little dish like they have on the food network (and btw - what DO they call them), and if so - what happens to the salt when not in use - are there in fact, such 'little' dishes available, if not what kind of grinder allows a good heafty granule - stupid thread, but peaks my curiosity.

Elaine:confused:

[Grace]

I pinch. I use kosher salt which is bigger grained than regular salt, but smaller grained than really coarse sea salt.

The container is called a "salt pig" and can be found in a variety of places. Alton Brown has one that's pretty popular, and there are others as well - I can do a search for you if you are interested. Oops, forgot to add that they're also called "salt cellar". The pigs are shaped a little differently than the cellars are. The cellar is more like an open dish.

As for what happens to it when not in use? Nothing. It just sits there like sugar in your sugar bowl or whatever.

[erinsue]

I pinch, using kosher salt. Instead of a "little dish" I use an old margarine tub - one of the smaller sizes, not sure exactly. That way, when the salt isn't in use, I can put the lid back on and not risk it getting knocked over or having other unwanted junk fall into the container.

The only drawback to this is that I often find the salt in the fridge :rolleyes: .

Erin

[sneezles]

I also have a salt pig for the various salts. A good pig or cellar will have a covering over the actual salt with an opening the "resembles" the snout of a pig. Nothing happens to the salt in my kitchen but I imagined that if you didn't have a/c then the humidity might be a concern in the summer.

[Aubergine]

the term i've always heard is salt cellar. i handle different salts in different ways depending on the situation. i keep a second pepper mill at the table filled with coarse sea salt and have the grind on the mill adjusted to the way i like it, which is fairly large, same as pepper. i keep kosher salt in a small covered jar and use that for at least half of my cooking; i almost never measure, i just dip a small spoon in and eyeball it, or pinch from that. i also keep shaker canisters with fine and coarse granulations in the kitchen for when i need to shake. you might want to look for the brand -- Cerulean Seas, about $2.50 for 14 oz. at the supermarket. La Baleine also makes a shaker canister with coarse crystals.

[tholbrook]

For most things, I use kosher salt and I "pinch" rather than "shake". I have the salt cellar from Alton Brown's website (http://www.altonbrown.com/).

But I also "shake": I have coarse sea salt that I use for baking (rolls, focaccia, etc.) and regular old iodized salt for our standard salt shaker on the table.

I'm also waiting on some fancy sea salt that I just ordered - I think that one will be a "pinch" variety as well.

[Chelle D]

I'm with the rest....I use kosher salt and I am a pincher :)

[birdyone]

Thanks so much gals for your comments - Grace, I am assuming that the one you are speaking of is at the Alton site? I am going to 'try' to order - there is a real problem for us (CDNS) with items crossing the boarder - don't want to even begin to tell you about Penzey's last week and will probably not end up getting until Xmas............in any event, I'm going for it. I have 2 types of 'sea salts' right here that I am currently using, Ravida, which is from the coast of Sicily and Croque au Sel, which would appear to be from France - I guess at the end of the day, I need a 'Salt Pig'. I love the stuff and cannot go back to 'shaking' salt at the table, which I suppose a lot of us are now doing.

Thanks,
Elaine

[ellen6242]

Michael Chiarello has some beautiful salt cellars - as well as a variety of different types of salts at www.napastyle.com

Ellen

[Canice]

Elaine, would this be the salt mill (http://ww2.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C15%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Csal t%20mill&gids=cw033&cmsrc=sch) from W-S that you didn't like? I've had mine for years and been happy with it, though I have to say I mostly "pinch" from my dish of kosher salt - I just use a nice little ramekin that was just sitting around. Oh, and yes, salt mills are different from pepper mills; chiefly, they have to have non-corrosive parts or the salt will destroy them.

[eas11]

I pinch my kosher salt when cooking too. Right now, I'm keeping my salt in a small covered ceramic dish which sits on my stove ledge. I still prefer the covered dish to the open pig.
Here (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=18941&highlight=kosher+salt) is a fun thread I started a few years ago about where to keep your kosher salt!

[gertdog]

Another pincher here, though I use kosher, regular iodized Morton's, and sea salt depending on the recipe.

I do have a sea salt grinder for the dinner table and I love it. I think there is a difference between mills designed for salt vs. pepper- a true salt mill will have a ceramic or other non-metal grinding mechanism because salt would corrode metal; a pepper mill will have a metal grinding mechanism.

[bobmark226]

Neither. I palm. Like Rachael Ray.

Bob

[Varaile]

Spoon and pinch.

My stove side salt bowl (which has a hinged lid so I can flip it open with my thumb) has a very tiny spoon (about 1/8th of a tsp). I just scoop and scatter! Oh, and I use kosher salt.

However, on my kitchen table I have an antique fiesta creamer bowl with a lid that I've got some very basic sea salt in and I use the pinch method with that.

[birdyone]

Canice - that is exactly the salt mill that she gave me - just this past July - the salt gets all 'bunged' up in a clump and comes out too fine - maybe I'm not using the right salt, and I did buy the Ravida SS from W-S after being told that was the best one to use. I don't know if you get McCormick's there, but they now have a few select spice-grinder bottles - I love the salt in those things, comes out nice and coarse, only problem they are not refilable (as some of the counter ones are) and they hold 70 grams (whatever that translates to) which is not much. I did a search at Bonnie Stern's site, but the salt mill she has looks like it would be much the same as the one I have. The pepper mill at her site (either black or white plastic) is the best pepper mill I have EVER owned and have had for years.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Elaine

[Canice]

I've never had my salt clump up; could it be a problem with the salt rather than the mill? Also, did you try loosening the screw on the underside of the mill to adjust the coarseness? Not that it matters, as long as you've found something you like!

[cab321]

I pour into my palm and dump into the dish/pot/pan. I use the container my kosher salt came in with giant pouring holes.