Cooking with Culinary Salts

Salt is an essential nutrient for human beings. This prized mineral offers nutritional support to our body while heightening the flavor profile of foods. Not only does salt enhance the taste of most foods, it is also used to preserve foods, age or brine meats, and for making ice cream.

Culinary salts add a new flavor dimension to foods. There are three primary groups of culinary salts including: table, kosher and sea salts. Dozens of subcategories exist such as finishing and infused salts.

All culinary salts are derived through an evaporation process. Table salt is derived from a salt mine while sea salt is derived through evaporating sea water. Salt enhances the flavor of nearly every food. It can mask bitter flavors, make sweet foods sweeter, reduce the sourness of pickled foods, and enhance the moistness of dry meats such as turkey.

Cooking with culinary salts can take family-favorite recipes to a new level or add a twist to your favorite beverages. Let's take a look at the different types of culinary salts, along with their characteristics and uses.

Types of Culinary Salts

Table salt is the most common culinary salt. It is fine-grained and often has iodine added to it. Our body does not produce iodine on its own and must be obtained through food. Iodine is a non-metallic trace element necessary for producing thyroid hormones. It has been added to salt since the 1920s as a preventative measure against thyroid disease and goiter.

Table salt is the most affordable culinary salts. It can be used with nearly any type of food, including breads and baked goods. Several types of table salt are available including: pickling, canning, rock, popcorn, pretzel, and seasoned.

Pickling and canning salts do not include iodine. These fine-grained salts are used for pickling everything from pickles to pig's feet and as a preserving and seasoning agent when canning foods.

Seasoned salts are great for adding an extra boost of flavor to most foods. Store-bought seasoned salts can be pricey and many contain MSG (monosodium glutamate - a controversial food additive).

It is easy and fun to make homemade seasoned salts. Make small amounts for one-time use or batches that can be stored in airtight containers. Numerous recipes for homemade seasoned salt are available online. One of my favorite sources for seasoned salt recipes is About.com: Southern Food.

Culinary Kosher Salts

Most people associate kosher salt to Jewish foods, but it is often used in fine dining restaurants and by celebrity chefs. The primary difference between kosher and table salt is the process used when deriving it.

Kosher salt is available in fine and coarse grain. When cooking with kosher salts, recipe measurements will need to be adjusted because kosher salt is less dense than table salt. The standard conversion is 1.5 times kosher coarse grain and two times kosher fine grain to table salt. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon table salt, you would use 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse grain or 2 teaspoons kosher fine grain.

Kosher salt is often used to salt the rim of cocktail glasses for drinks such as Salty Dogs and Margaritas. Food coloring can be added to create festive salted drinks. Kosher salt is often used on homemade or frozen pretzels. It also makes a great dry meat rub.

A super easy homemade steak rub recipe involves mixing ¼ cup kosher salt with ¼ cup coarse black pepper, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon dry mustard. Rub on meat and marinate for one hour. Delicious!

Culinary Sea Salts

Sea salts offer a vast array of culinary choices. These highly-regarded salts are extracted from sea water and contain various trace minerals not available in table salts. Mineral content varies by the region in which salts are harvested.

Culinary sea salts are categorized as either finishing or infused salts. Finishing salts are of a single origin, while infused salts can include different varieties of sea salts, flavorings, and spices.

Gourmet sea salts have exploded throughout the culinary world in recent years. Gourmet salts provide a burst of flavor and a hint of color. Sea salts often possess a natural color from environmental elements in the region where it is harvested.

For example, Hawaiian sea salt emits a pink-salmon color because it contains Alaea; a volcanic red clay with high levels of iron oxide. Celtic salt ranges in color from light gray to light purple based on the clay in the French provinces where it is gathered. Black salt is mined in India and presents with hues of pearly pink-gray and a strong sulfur odor.

Finishing Salts

Finishing salts are like the icing on the cake. They bring a new dimension of flavor to the dish which they accompany. Since salt dissolves, finishing salts are added moments before serving so diners can experience the tiny bit of crunch.

Finishing salts can be purchased in gourmet shops, but it is easy and much more affordable to make them at home. A great source for finishing salt recipes is TheBreakawayCook.com. Recipe selections include: Matcha; a Japanese green tea powder, Tangerine, Lavender, Smoked Paprika, and Kaffir Lime.

Infused Salts

Infused salts can open up a whole new culinary experience. These delectable seasonings can be infused with spices, herbs, and flavorings such as espresso coffee and merlot wine. One of my favorite resources for infused salts is Fusion™ at Saltworks.us.

Fusion infused sea salt selections include: Aged Balsamic, Espresso Brava, Lemon Twist, Roasted Garlic, Sun Ripened Tomato, Vanilla Bean and Spicy Curry, to name a few. These flavor-enhancing gems are rather costly and range in price from $14.99 to $20.00 for four to five ounces.

It is easy to make homemade gourmet infused salts and you can save a bundle in the process. Asian and Hispanic markets are a great place to pick up unusual and every day spices at affordable prices. Buy in bulk to save even more.

The Internet provides a plethora of infused salt recipes. A few years ago I found a simple recipe for a garlic paste rub. I made too much and stored the leftover in a covered plastic container. A few days later the paste turned to salt and was the most flavorful garlic salt I had ever tasted. At the time I did not realize I was making infused salt!

The recipe is simple. Mix equal parts kosher salt and fresh garlic. The ratio is about 1 teaspoon salt to 1 large garlic clove. Mash the cloves with the salt until mixture becomes a paste. Use the paste to coat chicken or for garlic bread. Store the remainder in the refrigerator until it turns to garlic salt.