Which Salt is Worth Its Salt?

Have you ever come across delicious-sounding recipes that listed a particular type of salt in the ingredients that you did not have on hand - and actually used iodized table salt instead??? Don't worry, lots of people have done it, including me.  After reading a book that described a taste-test for different kinds of salt, I began to wonder about the differences between all the kinds of salt I have seen in recipes and on cooking shows. Here's some of the interesting history (you know I have to tell the history of foods in my postings) and characteristics I learned about the different kinds of salt.

"cum grano salis"

"With a grain of salt."

This is said to be one of the most familiar Latin expressions. When one does not fully believe something or someone, cum grano salis, suggests a certain caution or reserve.

Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world, so a grain of salt is not to be taken as a trivial matter. 

Salt of the Earth: We Can’t Live Without It

• "Not worth his salt."
• "Rub salt in a wound."
• "True to his salt."
• "Salt an invoice"
• "With a grain of salt."
• "Salty wit, salty personality, salty dog."
• "Salad, salsa, salami."
• "True to his salt."

Salt runs through the English language in a thick vein; and no wonder, since it runs the same way through history, religion, folktales, superstitions, geology, physiology, and nearly every aspect of daily living, from cosmetics and clothing to gasoline and our meals.

History of Salt


As far back as 6050 BC, salt has been an important and integral part of the world’s history, as it has been interwoven into the daily lives of countless historic civilizations. Used as a part of Egyptian religious offerings and valuable trade between the Phoenicians and their Mediterranean empire, salt and history have been inextricably intertwined for millennia, with great importance placed on salt by many different races and cultures of people. Even today, the history of salt touches our daily lives. 


In ancient times, salt (or the lack of it) could drastically affect the health of entire populations. Trade in salt was very important, and salt was valuable enough to be used as currency in some areas. The Latin phrase "salarium argentum," "salt money," referred to part of the payment made to every Roman soldier, and the word has been carried down the ages into the English word "salary." Everyone must have salt, so it has been a commodity much abused by attempts at monopoly, by individuals, corporations, cities, and nations. The city of Rome may have begun as a salt-trading center, like Venice after it. Certainly the salt traders of the Roman port of Ostia raised the price so high that the state was forced to take over the industry about 506 BC. Man-made salt-ponds along the Mediterranean shore date back to Roman times, and it is inevitable that we will find older ones. Salt was already being mined in the Alps when Rome was founded.

The fact is that throughout history, salt—called sodium chloride by chemists—has been such an important element of life that it has been the subject of many stories, fables and folktales and is frequently referenced in fairy tales. It served as money at various times and places, and it has been the cause of bitter warfare. Offering bread and salt to visitors, in many cultures, is traditional etiquette. It is used in making pottery. While we have records of the importance of salt in commerce in Medieval times and earlier, in some places like the Sahara, China, and Nepal, salt trading today gives a glimpse of what life may have been like centuries ago.


(Click on the blue words to learn more about the history of salt in these historical eras and regions.)

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*Kosher Salt* 

Why Use It?

You can use Kosher salt for all types of cooking.  It dissolves fast so the flavor blends into food quickly. 

Origin of Kosher Salt 

Kosher salt comes from either the ocean or the earth. It is widely sold by companies that  include Morton (seen above) and Diamond Crystal. This type of salt got its name because its thick, bumpy crystals that make it perfect for curing meat―a step in the koshering process.

Texture

Kosher salt is coarse. The roughness of the crystals makes it easy to putt a "pinch of salt" in a recipe.

Verdict

Definitely worth its salt.

*Crystalline Sea Salt*

Why Use It?

Crystalline sea salt adds a burst of sharp, strong flavor to food that has just finished cooking.  It is great for salmon, salads, and fresh, cooked vegetables.

Origin of Crystalline Salt

Crystalline sea salt comes from a wide variety of areas, including Maine, Portugal, California, and other regions of the Pacific Rim.

Texture

Crystalline sea salt can be fine or coarse.  The size of the crystals determines how fast it dissolves.  The minerals in crystalline sea salt can affect the color.  For example, iron-rich, red clay  gives Hawaiian sea salt a pinkish shade.  Natural impurities can give crystalline seas salt a sweet, bitter, or even briny flavor.

Verdict

Also worth its salt.

*Flaked Sea Salt*

Why Use It?

Flaked seas salt will add a complex, or 

Origin of Flaked Sea Salt

Flaked sea salt originated on England's Essex coast where the most popular brand, "Maldon" (as shown above), is harvested.

Texture

Flaked sea salt has a soft, sheer, pyramid-like shape.  This type of salt is the fastest-dissolving of all the salt grains.

Verdict

Also worth its salt.

*Fleur de Sel*

Why Use It?

Fleur de Sel have light, delicate flakes of pure sea salt that dissolve instantly when sprinkled into food.  It is a special-occasion table salt.  It adds the perfect hint of saltiness to fresh foods like sliced tomatoes or melon.

Origin of Fleur de Sel

Fleur de sel, which literally means "flower of salt," has been hand-gathered on the island of Ré, off France's Atlantic coast, since the seventh century. These fine, light crystals have a delicate flavor and high concentration of minerals, making them the perfect finishing salt. It "blooms like a flower" on fresh food.

Texture

Fleur de Sel has a crystalline texture making it melt slowly  in your mouth.  Its earthy, pleasing flavor lingers on the tongue.

Verdict

Absolutely worth its salt.

*Rock Salt*

Why Use It

Rock salt is used for making ice cream.  It is used in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate temperature.  You can also use it to  melt the ice on your sidewalk in the winter.

Origin of Rock Salt

Made from pure mined salt from ancient salt deposits, this salt is all natural with no additives.  It is not sold for use directly on food.  

Texture

Rock salt has coarse, chunky, nonuniform crystals.  Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color.

Verdict

Worth its salt as long as you only use it for making ice cream. (Or melting that pesky ice on your front porch.)

*Pickling  Salt*

Why Use It?

Pickling salt is used for canning purposes.  It can brine pickles and sauerkraut, as well as a turkey.  Pickling salt is way more concentrated than Kosher salt, so be careful how you use it.  I recommend using it for canning only.  

Origin of Pickling Salt

Like table salt, pickling salt can come from the earth or the ocean.  But unlike table salt, pickling salt is not fortified with iodine - which is a nutritional need for humans.  It doesn't contain anti-caking chemicals either.  Virtually 100% sodium chloride, it's the purest of salts.

Texture

Pickling salt is fine-grained, like table salt.

Verdict

Worth its salt if you only use it for canning purposes.

*Iodized Table Salt*

Why Use It?  Where it is in Our Diet?

Humans require trace amounts of iodine, a non-metallic mineral,  for proper development and growth.  If you are eating a healthy, balanced, varied diet, you're probably getting enough iodine and don't need to use iodized salt.  If you aren't, then you might wqant to consider continuing to add it to the food you eat.  

We can get iodine naturally by eating saltwater fish and seafood, kelp and other sea vegetables as well as vegetables grown in soils that contain iodine. Dairy products also provide iodine if the animals graze on plants growing in iodine-rich soils.   Use both unrefined (gray) and refined (white) sea salt, which I prefer to commercial salts that often have additives I don't like, such as aluminum compounds to prevent caking. Sea salt contains trace amounts of iodine.

Origin

See Above......

Texture

Table salt is usually fine in texture, meaning that the grains are very small and easily dissolve in liquid. 

Verdict

If you are eating plenty of seafoods — saltwater fish and/or sea vegetables — you don't need to add iodized table salt to your diet. However, if you avoid most of the foods mentioned here, you may want to reconsider getting iodized salt, just to be on the safe side.

In other words, only use as needed and worth its salt if your health depends upon it.  Otherwise, use Kosher, Crystalline, or Flaked sea salt - or Fleur de Sel.  So....Iodized table salt - not always worth its salt.