You may have noticed that some recipes call for salt while others specifically call for kosher salt. Just salt means table salt, eg Morton iodized saltwhile kosher salt will say — you guessed it — “kosher salt” on the label.
While you may be tempted to reach for whatever salt is on hand, knowing the difference between table salt and kosher salt can be the difference between a well-cooked meal and a salt lick.
To learn all about both types of salt, including when it’s best to use each and how to properly substitute one for the other, I turned to a culinary pro: Olivia Rozkowski , who is a chef instructor in plant-based culinary arts. Institute of Culinary Education. Here’s what I found out.
Key Differences Between Table Salt and Kosher Salt
Additives: About 70 percent of table salt in the United States is fortified with iodide, an essential nutrient that has been added to salt since the 1920s to help prevent iodine deficiency. Global Health Now. Major brands of kosher salt sold in the United States, such as Diamond Crystal and Morton, are not iodized.
Table salt often contains added anti-caking agents such as tricalcium phosphate and stabilizers such as dextrose. Ingredients in kosher salt vary by brand. For example, Diamond Crystal There are no additives, while Morton Kosher Salt Soda’s anti-caking agent is yellow proset.
Composition, grain size, and volume: While table salt has very fine grains, kosher salt has larger flakes that take up more space. The difference in size and volume is perhaps the most important difference between the two types of salt. If you’re measuring by volume—for example, using a teaspoon measurer—you’ll get more table salt than kosher salt.
Taste: While people often say that table salt tastes “saltier” than kosher salt, this is only true if you’re measuring by volume, as mentioned above. If you measure a teaspoon of table salt for a recipe, the dish will taste much saltier than if you measure a teaspoon of kosher salt.
Roszkowski says that iodized salt can leave a slight aftertaste for some consumers, while kosher salt has a cleaner taste for some loyalists.
Availability: While you can find table salt at even the most poorly stocked grocery store, you may have to search a little further to find kosher salt. until Trader Joe’s started selling diamond crystals.—my favorite brand—I resorted to buying it online because I couldn’t find it at any of my local grocery stores in New York.
A note about low iodine diets
When to Use Kosher Salt vs. Table Salt
“Kosher salt is a chef’s favorite because of the way you can easily hold it in your hands—with that built-in control, it’s easier to season food more evenly,” Rozkowski says. “When cooking a large piece of protein, cooks prefer to use kosher salt because of its large, uniform crystals that typically dissolve quickly and help soften the protein in the process. can.”
So when you want to salt something “like a sidewalk” in the words of Sidney Ann. The beargrab that box of kosher salt.
Kosher salt is also great for rimming cocktail glasses and as a garnish instead of flaky sea salt. Finally, “Kosher salt is good to use when you feel you have a tendency to overdo it,” Rozkowski adds.
Table salt (as well as fine sea salt) dissolves quickly, making it good for marinades, brines, and baking.
How to Substitute Table Salt for Kosher Salt
Since table salt is more “salty” by volume than kosher salt, the best way to substitute table salt for kosher salt and vice versa is to measure it by weight rather than by volume. It’s a good idea to measure by weight even if you’re using the salt called for in a recipe, because one type of salt can be saltier by volume than another. For example Morton kosher salt is saltier than diamond crystals by volume..
If you don’t have a kitchen scale or don’t feel like weighing your salt, A good rule of thumb is to replace half the amount of table salt with kosher salt.. Conversely, if the recipe calls for regular salt, double the amount of kosher salt if you’re using diamond crystals. If you are using Morton Kosher salt, I recommend using about 1 1/2 teaspoons of Morton Kosher for every teaspoon of table salt.
take away
Kosher salt and table salt have different textures and crystal sizes, which means you have to be careful when substituting them in recipes. But in a pinch, you can use half the amount of table salt in a recipe that calls for kosher salt—taste as you go and adjust until you reach salt perfection!