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Questions tagged [salt]

Questions about the use of culinary salt in the kitchen.

Saltiness is one of the five basic flavors (along with sweet, sour, bitter, and umami). Therefore, salt is one of the most important ingredients in cooking, since it's the only way to achieve that flavor.

Use this tag for questions about using salt in any culinary application, or for other kitchen purposes (such as ).

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Are there any advantages to freshly ground salt?

Recently, I've seen salt grinders sold in stores. I understand that freshly ground pepper has a plus over pre-ground pepper in terms of freshness and strength. However, salt to me seems like a mineral, as opposed to pepper which is, well, a pepper…
Mennyg
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What is the difference between sea salt and regular table salt?

I often sea sea salt sold in grinders to be used at the table, with comments about how it tastes better. What sort of taste differences would I notice using sea salt vs table salt, and what other differences might using one over the other…
Ryan Elkins
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Why is it important to add salt during cooking?

This may seem like a silly question, but given that each persons' tastes are different why is it that salt is added during cooking? It seems better to just allow the person eating the food to add their own salt to taste as opposed to forcing the…
O.O
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Pink salt vs regular salt

What is the difference between pink salt and more typical coarse salt (e.g. sea salt)? I know it is pink due to mineral deposits, but culinarily is it any different? e.g. does it taste different, is it used differently, etc. Since there may be more…
TJ Ellis
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Why does salt enhance the flavor of food?

I eat a lot of salt. It makes almost everything taste better, including: Meat Cookies Vegetables Sauces Chocolate much more It seems to me like salt makes almost anything better, but it doesn't just make it better because now I taste salt. It…
Caleb
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Is it true that all salt is sea salt?

I heard Alton Brown say that on Next Food Network Star. Is it true? What about salt that is mined, or salt from salty lakes?
Jolenealaska
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What are some things to consider when choosing a salt?

What attributes are important when selecting salt for a dish? Specifically where you would use sea salt, kosher salt or plain table salt? I can often find sea salt (iodized and non-iodized) in places I cannot find kosher salt.
jhappoldt
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How to flake rock sea salt?

I received a gift of pink rock sea salt and would like to know how best to process it into flakes. Briefly tried a box grater but that resulted in fine granules. The container includes three walnut sized crystals. Is there some kind of gadget that…
A. Oloroso
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Does the point at which salt is added to a dish affect how the flavor is changed?

If I'm preparing a dish for myself and someone on a low-sodium diet, I will withhold adding salt while cooking. Instead, I'll season my plate after serving. However, I can't seem to get the same flavor from adding salt after-the-fact as I do when…
tQuarella
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Does yeast use the salt in the ferment?

During the rising process, does the yeast consume and break down any of the salt in the dough, or is the amount you put in at the start the amount you get in your final loafs? (just spotted some recipes I've been usijg have up to 10g of salt per…
Ilya Grushevskiy
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What is the point of roasting salt?

This recipe for ginger-garlic paste roasts the salt before putting it in the paste. Now, I never thought I've seen someone roasting salt before. What is the point of this? How does it change the flavor or properties of the salt?
arvidj
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How to ration salt in small quantities?

I have high-ish blood pressure and the doctor said keep the salt under control. It is easy to ration controlled amounts of salt when cooking large amounts of stews and similar foods and you add salt by teaspoon. But I don't really make stews that…
amphibient
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Himalayan salt in place of table salt

I know you can use pink Himalayan salt for cooking, but I'm wondering if you can use it directly on food after it has been cooked, can you put it on steak or fries after they're cooked, as you would normal table salt?
Anne
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Is salt caking really a big problem, or are anti-caking agents just cheaper than salt?

Moving back to the US from Europe after 8 years, my wife and I thought we were going crazy when salt seemed ... less salty here. Taking a look, almost all salt has anti-caking agent mixed in with it. Morton Sea Salt was the only one we could find…
Sean
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Why isnt my salt about 39% Sodium?

I'm looking at the nutritional information on a pack of salt, as per the panel, 33.5g/100g is Sodium, everything else is in mg, totaling up to less than 1gm. The Ingredients section lists Salt as the sole ingredient However, atomic mass of Na = 23…
Akash
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