In the Pantry: Salt

All salts are created equal, right? Not really. As I have experimented in the kitchen and at the dinner table, I've learned a lot. And upgraded my pantry stocks. Here's a little info about the various salts I keep on hand.

Good Ol' Iodized Salt
Even though I don't use it very much, I still keep a paper can of Morton's in my cabinets. This is the salt most of us grew up with. The iodine was added starting in the 1920's as a preventative for certain thyroid conditions. Interestingly enough, some countries actually require iodine to be added to salt.) Although I don't even put it on the dining room table, it's still the best for baking. Its small uniform crystals make it easy to measure and better-dissolving in recipes. (Although I have to admit I sometimes skip salt as an ingredient in cookie, cake and pie recipes. My mother always left it out of those things when we were growing up, so I am very sensitive to any kind of saltiness in things like pound cake and chocolate chip cookies.)

Kosher Salt
This is the workhorse in my salt stable. I keep it in a lidded dish on the kitchen counter and always have it on the dinner table as well. It contains no additives, and its coarser grain makes it easy to pick up with your fingers. Whether putting water on to boil for pasta or tossing a salad, I can just reach over, grab a pinch or two of salt and throw it in. I think it has a brighter, less salty (if that makes sense) flavor than iodized salt, meaning that when you use it it wakes up the flavors already in a recipe rather than adding an additional salty layer of taste. It's what I use exclusively in cooking in all non-baking jobs.

Sea Salt
I've only discovered this one in the last year or so. There are expensive ones out there (fleur de sel, for example, at almost $20 a pound. Kosher salt, by comparison costs less than a buck a pound.) but you can also buy less-expensive versions of sea salt at your grocery store. Sea salt is distilled from seawater, and some, harvested along international shorelines have trace minerals that give it as much of a terroir (flavor associated with a particular place) as wine. The minerals can also give it a characteristic color; you may have seen Michael Chiarello on the Food Network using grey salt. I have a small bag of a pinkish salt from Australia in my pantry.

Sea salt is a finishing salt for me since I think it's appeal is its texture. It's not grainy, but flaky. So when you sprinkle a little on a fresh tomato slice or steamed vegetables, it doesn't dissolve into the food, but keeps its shape and provides a salty crunch as you bite into it.

On the Horizon
There are two new trends I have noticed in the salt world. One is chunk salts. These potato-sized rocks are mined and, just as sea salts do, come in a variety if colors. It's grated as needed onto foods and used as a finishing salt. Same benefits apply: its larger flakes "sit up" on the food and provide some crunch. I'm on the lookout for a chunk or two to have for fancier occasions.

The other is smoked salt. As people branch out from brisket and ribs and now smoke fish, vegetables and other more delicate ingredients, someone threw a tray of kosher salt in and let it pick up the hardwood flavors and smells. Next time I fire up my smoker I'm going to do the same. Word on the street is that it's delicious on salmon and other fish. (Or how about rimming the glass of a delicious Bloody Mary?)

Check them out. A beautiful life deserves beautiful ingredients and having just the right salt on hand can be the thing to take a meal from ho-hum to outstanding.