Kosher Salt

[kentgirl]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm going to ask again anyway.

What is the difference between kosher salt and regular table salt?
Can I substitute regular salt when a recipe calls for kosher salt? If so, does 1 tsp kosher salt equal 1 tsp regular salt?
What difference would it make in the taste of a recipe if I do substitute?

Thanks!

[Mousie29]

Kentgirl, HOpe better answers are to come, but it is my understanding that:

Kosher salt is more "gourmet" and I try to use it when salt is called for.....

It has bigger chunks, it's not so fine.....

[BosunsWife]

I use it or a form of it (Hawaiian Sea Salt) in my cooking and before I moved to Hawaii, I just used regular Kosher salt. I use it for most everything, but baking (desserts, etc.). I also use it for my bread machine recipes and haven't really noticed a difference. I find it is easier to season with, not so fine textured.

[makedah]

I prefer Kosher salt because it doesn't have that sharp, metallic taste that regular table salt does. (When you taste it alone.) I first used Kosher salt about a month or so ago and I haven't looked back. That said, I don't know if it would taste different in a recipe.

[Ralph]

The October, 2000, issue of CL had a great article on the various kinds of salt.

Some of the comments in the article: Table salt is fine for many uses, especially baking. For general cooking, kosher salt is best. It's larger than the tiny granules of table salt, easy to grasp, & in the case of the Diamond Crystal brand, fast to dissolve. Kosher salt has lower sodium than sea or table salt.

I DO remember reading or hearing somewhere that kosher salt is much more strongly flavored than table salt. So, to answer your second question, Kentgirl, no, a simple 1:1 substitute won't work.

You might want to try searching Alton Brown's pages at www.foodtv.com (http://www.foodtv.com) or www.goodeatsfanpage.com/index.htm (http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/index.htm) - he's the host of Good Eats, uses ONLY kosher salt, & often comments about why.

[Julie O]

More info about salt....

Table salt, a fine-grained refined salt with additives that make it free-flowing, is mainly used in cooking and as a table condiment. Iodized salt is table salt with added iodine (sodium iodide)--particularly important in areas that lack natural iodine, an important preventative for hypothyroidism. Kosher salt is an additive-free coarse-grained salt. It's used by some Jews in the preparation of meat, as well as by gourmet cooks who prefer its texture and flavor. Sea salt is the type used down through the ages and is the result of the evaporation of sea water--the more costly of the two processes. It comes in fine-grained or larger crystals. Rock salt has a grayish cast because it's not as refined as other salts, which means it retains more minerals and harmless impurities. It comes in chunky crystals and is used predominantly as a bed on which to serve baked oysters and clams and to combine with ice to make ice cream in crank-style ice-cream makers. Pickling salt is a fine-grained salt used to make brines for pickles, sauerkraut, etc. It contains no additives, which would cloud the brine. Sour salt (see citric acid), also called citric salt, is extracted from acidic fruits, such as lemons and limes. It's used to add tartness to traditional dishes like borscht. Seasoned salt is regular salt combined with other flavoring ingredients, examples being onion salt, garlic salt and celery salt. Salt substitutes, frequently used by those on low-salt diets, are products containing little or no sodium.

---From Food TV dictionay



[This message has been edited by Julie O (edited 04-18-2001).]

[Beth H]

I've started using kosher salt for everything except baking. You do not need as much of it as table salt -- just reduce salt quantities in recipes slightly (not by half, maybe by a quarter). I think it flavors recipes better.