What Kind of Salt Should You Use?
Switch them up for different contexts — or settle on a new favorite
Let’s talk about salt: what kinds you might have in your pantry, what your go-to is, and whether it’s fine or coarse. Are you an early-and-often salter or are you in the season-food-at-the-finish camp? Or somewhere in between?
First, a few basics. All salts are created naturally — in rock and bodies of water — but they’re not all the same. Common table salt is mined, milled, refined, and “enhanced” with iodine and other ingredients. But consistency has a downside: The flavor of table salt is harsh, with iodine the predominant mineral taste.
At the other end of the spectrum, there’s an array of specialty salts, pulled from both oceans and clay, with nuances of flavor and color you may or may not think are worth the expense.
In between is a handful of everyday salts — either coarsely milled from deposits in rock or made by evaporating ocean water. Either way, the result is an additive-free salt. These are the ones I use both in the kitchen and on the table.
Salt gets its name and primary flavor from sodium chloride, the major compound present in all types in varying degrees. The subtle flavors of sea salts — which may be described as briny, metallic, or earthy — come from…
