Different Kinds of Salt Every Cook Should Know

Cooking with salt is an essential part of any cooks repertoire. Salt can be used to add flavor, texture, and even color to dishes. With so many different types of salt available, it can be difficult to know which one to use for what purpose.

This article will provide a comprehensive guide to the different kinds of salt every cook should know. From common table salt to more exotic varieties, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using salt in your cooking.

Types of Salt and How to Use Them

We all know how much salt can take a dish to the next level. You’ve worked hard in the kitchen, given blood, sweat and tears, but the dish still lacks something. With a quick sprinkle of salt, the meal is transformed, enhanced and boosted, and that’s all it took.

Just a little bit of salt and voilà, you’re left with a culinary masterpiece. But did you know that you could really take your dish to the next level if you choose the right salt? Here’s a list of different salts you should be adding to your kitchen’s collection.

Fleur de Sel 

Fleur de Sel is a salt harvested by hand by workers who collect the top layer using large salt pans before it sinks to the bottom. It’s been collected from the Breton coast in France since the 7th century.

Fleur de Sel has a strong taste which can be slightly bitter. Fleur de Sel has a light grey, at times, pale pink color and its fine crystal consistency distinguishes it. Due to the low produce reaping and intensive labor required, Fleur de Sel is one of the most expensive cooking salts worldwide.

Because of its high price and quality, Fleur de Sel is best saved as a finishing touch to meals. Exposing Fleur de Sel to high temperatures will lose its distinct taste.

Fleur de Sel is best sprinkled on salads, grilled meats and vegetables just before serving, and the finishing touch to salted caramel and chocolate sweets. Fleur de Sel is one of the most popular selling gourmet salts, but it remains a luxury product due to its high price.

Table Salt

Table salt is made by mining underground salt deposits. It is then considerably processed to eliminate certain minerals, and additives are mixed to remove the moisture. No doubt you’re aware of what table salt looks like and tastes, with its counterpart on dining tables worldwide.

Still, it is generally white in color, with fine salt crystals in consistency. Due to its extensive refining process, table salt has a harsh salty taste compared to higher quality gourmet salts. While it contains similar amounts of sodium to sea salt, table salt tends to have a more robust flavor.

Due to its low price, table salt is good for salting water for boiling pasta or potatoes, cooking rice, and baking. Its refined grains can disperse evenly in the ingredients and dissolve quickly. Table salt is the most commonly found salt worldwide and is more often than not present at the dinner table.

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Himalayan pink salt is said to have a slightly floral taste akin to lavender. Despite the name, pink Himalayan sea salt is actually from Pakistan and is hand-mined. It is then crushed, washed by hand, and left to dry in the sun.

Due to this natural process and lack of machinery, salt is often considered the purest form worldwide. Himalayan salt is made up of fine sea salt crystals ranging from a grey-white to a reddy-pink color.

Like Fleur de Sel, pink Himalayan sea salt is best used as a finishing salt to garnish and enhance dishes at the very last minute because of its high quality and distinct taste.

Such a labor-intensive salt means Pink Himalayan sea salt is very much a luxury item. But one that is high in demand in upmarket restaurants and kitchens.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt has a lighter taste in comparison to table salt. Kosher salt is produced by one of two methods: flattening salt flakes into crystals, as is the industry standard, or by using the Alberger process, which makes salt crystals with a brine solution by stirring with rakes and letting salt crystals form, otherwise known as Kosher salt.

Contrary to belief, kosher salt is named as such because it’s used to draw blood out of meat. This follows Jewish dietary laws, rather than the fact that the salt itself is deemed Kosher, as most salts are. Kosher salt is made up of tiny flakes; therefore, it is best used for seasoning meat and fish, as the flakes give you greater control over how much you add.

It is worth noting that when using Kosher salt in cooking, you should use double the quantity as you would with table salt because Kosher salt is less dense than table salt. Because of its versatility and light taste, Kosher salt is trendy within the chef community.

Sea Salt

Just about everyone will be aware of what sea salt tastes like. If you’ve had the pleasure of a trip to the seaside, you will have inevitably already tasted it if you decided to have a dip in the sea. Sea salt is, you can probably guess, caused by evaporating seawater.

What is left are sea salt crystals, which can be used in various cooking methods. Because of the characteristic taste, sea salt is best used as a finishing salt. Therefore, it is best paired with most meals to give it a simple yet highly effective finishing touch to enhance your meal.

Naturally, sea salt goes well with grilled fish, complementing simple dishes such as eggs, avocado and bread and butter. Even though sea salt comes in at a higher price than your usual table salt, its full-bodied yet delicate taste is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide.

Rock Salt

You may be more familiar with rock salt being used to melt ice on the roads than in the kitchen. While you may not use rock salt regularly in cooking, it has specific uses that make it highly useful for making various dishes. Rock salt is a less refined form of table salt.

Therefore its taste is similar to that of table salt but more subtle, and like table salt, you can find it in salt mines. While most other salts are used as ingredients, rock salt is used as a cooking utensil, generally used to cover meat or fish and then cook in the oven.

The coating of rock salt keeps the moisture in and causes a crust to form, which makes the meat or fish highly tasty. Rock salt is also used to make ice cream, as the salt lowers the melting point.

The rock salt used must be suitable for cooking as the rock salt used to melt ice contains harmful additives that aren’t suitable for human consumption.

Other than the uses already mentioned, rock salt doesn’t boast any attributes other salts could replicate, so the use of rock salt is still under the radar.

Pickling Salt

Pickling salt tastes very similar to table salt. However, there are two significant differences. The first is pickling salt does not contain anti-caking ingredients, which can make pickles cloudy. And second nor additives such as iodine can discolor pickles.

Pickling salt is solely sodium chloride or simply pure granulated salt. The primary use for pickling salt is, of course, brine for pickles. You may ask why pickling salt is necessary when you could easily use alternatives such as table salt or kosher salt, but the additives used in the salts mentioned above, while completely safe, will damage the quality of the pickle.

Additive-free Kosher salt or pure sea salt could be used as an alternative. Still, if you’re thinking of making the big leap into making your own pickles, it may be a worthwhile investment. Considering its niche qualities, pickling salt is not particularly widespread other than its use in pickle brine.

Kala Namak

Otherwise known as Himalayan Black Salt or simply Black Salt, Kala Namak is probably the salt with the most distinctive flavor. Given its rather pungent eggy flavor – some even go as far as saying it tastes like rotten eggs!

For this reason, Kala Namak is often used as a vegan substitute for eggs. Such a characteristic taste can be attributed to its processing via reduction, which produces sulfates. Even though it’s known as Himalayan Black Salt, it has a pale pink color when it is ground.

Kala Namak is traditionally used in Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani cuisine as a seasoning or added to chutneys, raitas and chaats (savory snacks such as samosas and puri). Because of its distinctive taste, Kala Namak is a little-used salt.

However, if used for suitable dishes, it can be the ideal accompaniment or a convenient alternative for those adopting the vegan lifestyle.

Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt

In contrast, Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt is black in color. Black lava sea salt has a subtle and nutty taste which could be attributed to the addition of activated carbon. Like regular sea salt, it is derived from an evaporation process, and then the black lava is mixed in with the salt.

Black lava sea salt is recommended for seasoning meats, grilling vegetables and sprinkling on eggs for a fancy twist to the bog-standard breakfast item.

Considering Hawaiian black lava sea salt is a gourmet salt, it comes with a premium price, so the use of black lava sea salt is relatively small. But if you’re looking to make a small but effective boost to your cooking, black lava sea salt may be just what you’re looking for.

Sel Gris

Sel Gris, or Celtic salt, comes from the same salt pans as Fleur de Sel, but the production process is slightly different. Sel Gris is very dense, so compared to table salt, it has a more pungent salty taste.

Compared to Fleur de Sel, Sel Gris is made up of salt crystals that have sunk to the bottom of the salt pan. It is then raked, and coarse grey crystals are formed, hence the Sel Gris. As a result, the harvest yield of Sel Gris is much higher than that of fleur de sel.

Unlike Fleur de Sel, Sel Gris can be used as a cooking and finishing salt. It’s often considered the ultimate cooking salt, regarding its quality and versatility. Sel Gris is best used to grill meats, vegetables and fish, in baking, as a salt crust and to season your meals.

Sel Gris is also a moist salt, so it doesn’t dry out the meat, like kosher salt. Thanks to its versatile nature and lower price, in comparison to its rival fleur de sel, Sel Gris has become one of the fastest gourmet salt imports in the US alone. Its popularity will no doubt spread worldwide.

Smoked Sea Salt

As you may expect, smoked sea salt adds a smoky kick to your usual sea salt. Smoked sea salt follows the same process as sea salt as it’s collected by evaporating seawater. It’s then smoked over wood; depending on which wood is used will impact the flavor.

Applewood, hickory, mesquite and oak are commonly used smoking choices. Smoked salt comes in handy for dry rubs for meats and as a finishing touch for salty-sweet combinations. For vegetarians who are missing smoky bacon, it can be used as a vegetarian-friendly alternative, replicating the same delicious flavors.

Smoked salt has also been starting to appear on cocktail menus more and more recently. Unfortunately, because of its price, smoked salt is still a little-used cooking salt other than in the United States. Still, it comes in handy as a meat-free alternative for those choosing a vegetarian diet and complimenting barbecued meats for avid carnivores.

However, if you don’t fancy forking out a pot of smoked salt, you could always smoke your own sea salt for half the price.

Cyprus Lemon Salt

Salt infusions are becoming the rage increasingly at the moment, and Cyprus Lemon Salt is one of the leading contenders. With lemon and salt being complimentary flavors, Cyprus lemon salt is a no-brainer combination.

Cyprus sea salt flakes are renowned for their large pyramid shapes, making them ideal for finishing dishes. Also, because the salt has a distinctive flavor, cooking with it would dissolve the flavor, and you may as well use standard sea salt for that.

Cyprus lemon salt is also an obvious choice for rimming cocktail glasses for drinks such as Margaritas and Bloody Marys. Cyprus lemon salt is exceptionally high quality and is only used for finishing dishes. So it is still a high-end addition to your cooking salt collection.

But it’s worth stumping up for it if you want to take your dishes (or Margaritas) to the next level.

Truffle Salt

Truffle salt takes on the earthy and rich flavors of white and black truffles and mixes them with salt. As with Cyprus lemon salt, truffle salt is a salt infusion, so it’s processed in the same way as sea salt and then shaved truffles are mixed into the salt.

Truffle salt is complimentary for simple dishes such as scrambled eggs or grilled cheese toasties. A strong flavor can take a simple dish to the next dimension. Once again, because of its strong taste, truffle salt would be wasted used as a cooking salt so reserve it as a finishing salt only.

Truffle salt is very popular in chef circles. Over the last few years, it has been a common feature on upmarket restaurant menus. Replicate your favorite dishes at home at a fraction of the price with your stash of truffle salt.

Hibiscus Salt

Hibiscus salt adds a zing like no other to your dishes. Its zingy flavor gives your everyday meals a new twist. When you consider its dark red hue, it will also make your dishes look aesthetically pleasing. Hibiscus salt originated in the US as a new salt infusion.

Still, it has since spread to the UK, Australia and beyond. Sprinkle hibiscus salts over grilled meats, fish and vegetables or use as a crust for goat’s cheese. You can put a few flakes on a bar of chocolate or sweet popcorn to give it a lovely salty-sweet taste.

You can also use it to spice up breakfast items such as eggs, avocado and tomatoes. Use Hibiscus salt as a finishing salt only as its dark red color and citrusy taste would be lost in cooking. As with other salt infusions, Hibiscus salt is not widespread. However, it’s a simple addition to enhance all sorts of dishes.

Pretzel Salt

You may be thinking to yourself, what is pretzel salt? Surely, it’s the same as sea salt or rock salt? While that may be the general assumption, there is an actual pretzel salt, which is a large grain salt, similar to rock salt, but without the minerals which ruin the taste.

Pretzel salt is made in a similar refining process to table salt, and the large grains are the products of the evaporation process. Other than pretzels, pretzel salt can also be used as an alternative to rock salt for a salt crust when baking fish or meats.

Other than that, it could be used as an alternative to sea salt. Still, considering how hard it is to get your hands on pretzel salt, you’re better off using other cooking salts unless you want to make pretzels.

Jukyeom

Jukyeom is a salt roasted in bamboo originating from Korea. Sea salt is stuffed into bamboo tubes, and both ends are sealed with mud. There are two types of Jukyeom.

The most common form of Jukyeom has only been roasted once or three times depending on the quality of the salt, has an off-white tinge and has a delicate flavor. On the other hand, violet Jukyeom ranges from grey to dark purple in color, having been roasted nine times and has a taste similar to egg yolk because of the sulfurs produced during roasting.

Jukyeom is mainly used as a healthier alternative to table salt. Due to its beneficial properties, Koreans use bamboo salt to brush teeth and as a beauty product. Outside of Korea, Jukyeom is little-used, but it features prominently in Asian supermarkets and medicine stores.

Red Clay Salt

Red clay salt or ‘Alaea salt from Hawaii is known to have a mellow, less harsh taste than other sea salts. It has its reddish-pink tint because sea salt is mixed with volcanic red clay, which is thought to have many vitamins and minerals.

Traditionally ‘Alaea salt is used in Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua pig and Hawaiian jerky. You can also use it in a spice rub for roasted meats as it seals in moisture. You can also use it as a finishing touch for sashimi, a traditional Hawaiian tuna poke salad or on top of desserts and ice cream.

Most red clay salt available is actually from California, as it is prohibitively expensive outside of Hawaii. However, it’s clear to see why it is such an in-demand salt as it has a great taste in addition to enhancing a great variety of dishes.

Curing Salt

Curing salt is table salt with sodium nitrite, so the taste differences between the two are very similar. However, it is best to use curing salt when curing meats because sodium nitrate helps to ward off any bacteria that would deteriorate the meat’s quality.

It usually comes with a pinkish tinge, thanks to a red dye, to help cooks differentiate it from table salt. As it’s easy to deduce, curing salt is best used for curing meats. Otherwise, there aren’t any other particular uses for the salt.

Curing salt comes in different varieties, such as Prague Powder #1, Prague Powder #2 etc., which differ due to the sodium nitrate content. Due to its sole use, curing salt is not particularly widespread but if you’re looking to make your own cured meat, curing salt is essential to ensure you preserve it.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, salt is an important ingredient in any dish. There are many different types of salt, each with its own unique flavor. By understanding the different types of salt, cooks can create amazing dishes that are sure to please any palate.