A Salt Thread

[NameAlreadyTaken]

So after making my way through the pepper thread, I’m trialling out some different styles of salts.

There’s a large variety of different types, with a key difference to normal table salt or iodised salt being both the flavour, which seems to be influenced by the other minerals in the salt other than sodium, and the texture, which can give a different mouth feel and bite thereby changing how long the saltiness lingers on the tongue. So far, I’m enjoying the texture of the flakes as they have more bite, and there’s quite a surprising difference in tastes between sea salts, where say Maldon really sells the “I’ve just been for a swim” flavour, the fleur de sel is noticeably milder (perhaps that’s the extra minerals from the “Celtic method”). Given this variation, perhaps there’s different salts that excel at different uses, ie garnish vs ingredient.
Special shout out to the most specialised of all salts - the brezen (pretzel) salt - it does one thing for one dish, but man, it wouldn’t be the same with a different type of salt.

Which got me wondering, what are your favourite salts?
What salts do you use for what purpose?
Any recommendations for interesting salts to try?

Bonus salt related questions:
Are you concerned about microplastics in your sea salts?
Are you concerned about harmful trace elements in mined (non-sea) salts?
Do those minimising their sodium intake (ie low sodium diet) use alternatives or just exclude?

 

[boomchakabowwow]

GREATthread.

i love salts. i have so few tho.
i have Diamond Kosher
Maldon
a tub of fleur de sel a friend gave me from her trip to Paris
and some chunky sea salt from Alaska. Sitka. (great on watermelon)

 

[esoo]

Currently have some really bad kosher salt (bought at Walmart), some Maldon, pink and same black Hawaiian.

Need to get some diamond crystal (trying to find it at a good price here on Ontario)

The last few times I've done some cooking broken up the Maldon flakes for cooking use and it turned out awesome.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

GREATthread.

i love salts. i have so few tho.
i have Diamond Kosher
Maldon
a tub of fleur de sel a friend gave me from her trip to Paris
and some chunky sea salt from Alaska. Sitka. (great on watermelon)

Sitka are sea salt flakes? And when you’re eating on watermelon, is this in a salad or just nude by itself? I need to try this!

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Currently have some really bad kosher salt (bought at Walmart), some Maldon, pink and same black Hawaiian.

Need to get some diamond crystal (trying to find it at a good price here on Ontario)

The last few times I've done some cooking broken up the Maldon flakes for cooking use and it turned out awesome.

What does black salt taste like?
Is it just the colour? Or does it taste a bit like charcoal too?

 

[Simply]

Very big fan of saltverk flaky sea salt. Used it for years. Very melty if that makes sense. Use it for finishing and honestly often in the cook (but might pick up a big maldon tub or some thing for this)

https://saltverk.com/products/saltverk-pure-flaky-sea-salt

 

[boomchakabowwow]

Sitka are sea salt flakes? And when you’re eating on watermelon, is this in a salad or just nude by itself? I need to try this!

sorry. i was in an online meeting.

Sitka was the City in Alaska i bought the salt at. haha..sorry. i was not clear - at all.

and a big wedge of cold sweet watermelon. some big flake salt sprinkled onto it is mind blowing. it amps up the watermelon flavor and adds a welcoming crunch. i think it is a Texas thing. where i learned it.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

another salt thing i learned at a Sushi restaurant.

the sushi dude gave me a wooden box of Sake. he gave me tiny dish of chunky salt. he said to put a single flake on the edge of the box and sip some Sake over it. it was so good. amped up Sake flavor.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Very big fan of saltverk flaky sea salt. Used it for years. Very melty if that makes sense. Use it for finishing and honestly often in the cook (but might pick up a big maldon tub or some thing for this)

https://saltverk.com/products/saltverk-pure-flaky-sea-salt

Oh that’s interesting. It sounds a bit like the Icelandic geothermal salt that I’ve got called Nordur salt flakes. Nordur has quite a “clean” sea flavour, compared with say Maldon which seems more aggressive like you’ve been for a swim at the beach and the spray has dried on your face.
My wife strongly prefers the Icelandic salt to Maldon. I’m undecided. If I want a sea salt, don’t I want it to taste like the sea?

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

sorry. i was in an online meeting.

Sitka was the City in Alaska i bought the salt at. haha..sorry. i was not clear - at all.

and a big wedge of cold sweet watermelon. some big flake salt sprinkled onto it is mind blowing. it amps up the watermelon flavor and adds a welcoming crunch. i think it is a Texas thing. where i learned it.

Definitely trying that one with the kids!

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

another salt thing i learned at a Sushi restaurant.

the sushi dude gave me a wooden box of Sake. he gave me tiny dish of chunky salt. he said to put a single flake on the edge of the box and sip some Sake over it. it was so good. amped up Sake flavor.

Interesting. Kind of like a margarita for sake?

 

[Simply]

Oh that’s interesting. It sounds a bit like the Icelandic geothermal salt that I’ve got called Nordur salt flakes. Nordur has quite a “clean” sea flavour, compared with say Maldon which seems more aggressive like you’ve been for a swim at the beach and the spray has dried on your face.
My wife strongly prefers the Icelandic salt to Maldon. I’m undecided. If I want a sea salt, don’t I want it to taste like the sea?

Hmmm now I have to try Nordur haha. I like Saltverk so much because it truly serves as a flavor enhancer, never overpowering on flavor, just melty delicious saltiness. Wouldn’t quite say it tastes like the sea

 

[esoo]

What does black salt taste like?
Is it just the colour? Or does it taste a bit like charcoal too?

So this is what I have (wife bought it at Homesense). They list charcoal in the ingredients. Tastes a bit like normal salt to me but muted.

 

[esoo]

I should add that I also have some home done smoked salt. Had pulled the meat from the smoker so put a foil tray with table salt in it. Don't recall how long I left it for, but it has a nice smoke flavour.

 

[brimmergj]

some big flake salt sprinkled onto it is mind blowing.

Not sure where it started, but can confirm that some of us do it in Vermont as well. Even though my wife, also a native 'monter thinks it weird. Also great on cucumbers

 

[brimmergj]

I've got some maldon flakes as well as some Caravel red and black Hawaiian sea salt. Nice to switch up every now and then.

First time I used the black salt, my wife thought bugs got in the food. Really, really tweaked for a bit. Hysterical, for me that is

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

I should add that I also have some home done smoked salt. Had pulled the meat from the smoker so put a foil tray with table salt in it. Don't recall how long I left it for, but it has a nice smoke flavour.

Yeah I love a smoked salt for things like corn cobs, chilli con carne, etc!

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Not sure where it started, but can confirm that some of us do it in Vermont as well. Even though my wife, also a native 'monter thinks it weird. Also great on cucumbers

I’ve done the cucumbers, which depending on how long you leave it can start to draw out some of the bitterness of the cucumbers, I just need to try the watermelon now!

 

[mockit]

Big Maldon fan. Bought into the hype of Diamond Kosher salt a long time ago. If you are used to throwing in a ton of salt, it's good for control. I generally use salt conservatively, so this is a negative for me. Maldon all the way for 90% of what I cook. Might branch out when I go through a tub! Baking is a different story, perhaps.

 

[Rangen]

Great topic. My fun salts:

Diamond Kosher - almost all of my Chinese cooking uses this. I sometimes up the quantities because it tends to be lightweight for its size. Also use it for burgers and steaks, mostly because it is so darned easy to sprinkle evenly.

Celtic Salt -- the one with that blue label. It has an acrid bite that is just perfect for a minority of dishes. It's the magic ingredient in one particular chili I make, that my wife practically lived on for about 10 years.

Something called "Sel Marin Noirmoutier de L'ile de Sel Fin." I don't know just what all that means, but it is just wonderful to sprinkle on almost anything right before serving. It is full of subtlety. Also, it comes in a container that looks like a lighthouse. I don't think that is influencing my opinion, but it sure is a fun container.

San Francisco Salt Company French Grey Salt -- I use it for a lot of things, it's kind of a go-to sea salt, but I am only about 70% happy with it. I need to discover something else. Maldon doesn't do it for me either. It's good, but...I suspect there's something out there that will be the perfect fit for this niche.

Hawaiian red salt - love this on buttered toast and to top off a soup just before serving. Sort of a clay character.

Hawaiian black salt - if the red salt didn't exist, I'd use this charcoal-y salt for everything I use the red salt for.

A sampler of various salts-with-stuff-in-them makes me feel I have not sufficiently explored the world of putting things in with salt to make a seasoning. Especially the garlic and rosemary one.

 

[Michi]

I suggest to try Indian black salt for something truly different. It has a very strong sulphurous smell. I use it a fair bit with eggs, for which it works really well.

 

[Jovidah]

My day to day go-to is standard French grey salt (sel gris / guérande). Better flavor than the standard refined white stuff. Throw this into your pasta water and it'll actually taste like sea instead of just salty.
From a health perspective I think the trace chemicals are in such small amounts that any effect (whether positive or negative) would be negligible.
It's actually not all that expensive as long as you buy it coarse and in bulk...and without the name Celtic on it.

But as someone linked recently there might be a concern of microplastics there... so I'm giving himalaya rock salt a go. Microplastics shouldn't be an issue for rock salt, and as long as it's unrefined I'm hoping taste will be similar. Himalaya mostly because it seems to be the cheapest widely available option here.

Have tried stuff like Maldon in the past but apart from texture I don't think it's all that great on flavor.

If for whatever reason I had to reduce my sodium intake I'd first look into what other dietary changes I could make to still be able to use proper salt on my dinner, and if I really had to cut down I'd look into potassium based alternatives.

 

[BillHanna]

sorry. i was in an online meeting.

Sitka was the City in Alaska i bought the salt at. haha..sorry. i was not clear - at all.

and a big wedge of cold sweet watermelon. some big flake salt sprinkled onto it is mind blowing. it amps up the watermelon flavor and adds a welcoming crunch. i think it is a Texas thing. where i learned it.

My wife is a nonbeliever of salt on watermelon. I guess I’ll have to shun her.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Big Maldon fan. Bought into the hype of Diamond Kosher salt a long time ago. If you are used to throwing in a ton of salt, it's good for control. I generally use salt conservatively, so this is a negative for me. Maldon all the way for 90% of what I cook. Might branch out when I go through a tub! Baking is a different story, perhaps.

What’s the hype of the Diamond Kosher Salt? I must have missed that?

 

[mockit]

IIRC Diamond is frequently used and preferred because it is fine enough to dissolve quickly and low-density so you need more of it by volume to make something salty. @Rangen touched on it above. Supposedly big in fine dining and celebs like J Kenji / Alton Brown.

 

[M1k3]

I like kosher salt (prefer Diamond brand, other brands work) for cooking, plain sea salt otherwise. Weigh your salt! Volumetric measurements suck for measuring salt.

Maldon's I like as a general use finishing salt.

Grey salt, smoked and Hawaiian red salt are some more specialized, but, not too specialized finishing salts I like to use.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Great topic. My fun salts:

Diamond Kosher - almost all of my Chinese cooking uses this. I sometimes up the quantities because it tends to be lightweight for its size. Also use it for burgers and steaks, mostly because it is so darned easy to sprinkle evenly.

Celtic Salt -- the one with that blue label. It has an acrid bite that is just perfect for a minority of dishes. It's the magic ingredient in one particular chili I make, that my wife practically lived on for about 10 years.

Something called "Sel Marin Noirmoutier de L'ile de Sel Fin." I don't know just what all that means, but it is just wonderful to sprinkle on almost anything right before serving. It is full of subtlety. Also, it comes in a container that looks like a lighthouse. I don't think that is influencing my opinion, but it sure is a fun container.

San Francisco Salt Company French Grey Salt -- I use it for a lot of things, it's kind of a go-to sea salt, but I am only about 70% happy with it. I need to discover something else. Maldon doesn't do it for me either. It's good, but...I suspect there's something out there that will be the perfect fit for this niche.

Hawaiian red salt - love this on buttered toast and to top off a soup just before serving. Sort of a clay character.

Hawaiian black salt - if the red salt didn't exist, I'd use this charcoal-y salt for everything I use the red salt for.

A sampler of various salts-with-stuff-in-them makes me feel I have not sufficiently explored the world of putting things in with salt to make a seasoning. Especially the garlic and rosemary one.

Wow. That’s really interesting.
What is the Hawaiian red salt like?

That’s interesting about your Chinese cooking, I don’t think I use sea salt in any of my Asian cooking, I would season based on soy / fish sauce / oyster sauce / hoisin etc. What types of Chinese dishes are you using sea salt in (so I can understand if I’m missing something)?

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

IIRC Diamond is frequently used and preferred because it is fine enough to dissolve quickly and be sprinkled onto things evenly while having less sodium. Low-density but fine flakes and neutral in flavor. @Rangen touched on it above. Supposedly big in fine dining and celebs like J Kenji / Alton Brown.

Thanks mate, I’ll have to look into whether I can source some.

 

[Michi]

Rather than buying Morton or Diamond Kosher, I've been using David's kosher salt. It's essentially the same as Morton kosher salt. It's available at various deli shops here in Brisbane.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Rather than buying Morton or Diamond Kosher, I've been using David's kosher salt. It's essentially the same as Morton kosher salt. It's available at various deli shops here in Brisbane.

Oh cool. I’ve seen David’s around. If that’s similar I’ll give that a crack.