I know, I know, the title is cheesy (line ripped straight from one of my favorite 80's songs) but it got your attention! Since it's been a while, I had to start with something clever.
As you can see, we're talking Salt today. There are many different types of salt out there, and I'm making it my mission to teach you the differences and the benefits compared between all these types of salt.
We're all familiar with the most common Table Salt. This salt is a super refined form of Rock Salt with a few additives to keep it flowing thru our salt shakers.
Coarse Salt is that fancier, unrefined salt, that you see sprinkled on those delicious golden brown giant soft pretzels you're enjoying at the baseball game. This type of salt doesn't melt, so its more of a "pretty" salt.
Iodized Salt is also a very common type of salt. We've all seen the cardboard container with the little "Morton Girl" on the front. This salt is interesting to say the least. Iodized salt is actually required by law in some countries. The addition of Iodine is a response to our bodies requiring this mineral to prevent hyperthyroidism. Iodized salt is also interesting because of its small amount of sugar added to it. If the sugar was not added, the Iodine would turn the salt yellow and it wouldn't be very inviting to the human eye.
Kosher Salt, preferred not only by the Jewish community, but professional chefs as well, for its bright flavor and better texture compared to table salt. Although remember, if you're going to substitute Kosher Salt for table salt you will need to add slightly more due to its "not-so-salty" milder flavor.
Sea Salt is regarded up there like Kosher Salt. Sea
Salt is believed to have better health benefits because of its trace
minerals, but they say the amounts are to small to actually have a real
legitimate health benefit compared to Table or Kosher salt. Sea Salt is
also popular because of its good flavor. Sea Salt is distilled from
sea waters, which is why it has a slightly higher price that other
salts.
Celtic Salt, which I'm sure a lot of you are not familiar with, is also very interesting. This type of salt is very expensive due to the nature of how it is harvested. It is harvested via a 2,000 year-old method of solar evaporation from the waters of the Celtic Sea marshes in Brittany, France. The only other more rare and expensive salt is called fleur de sel, from the salt marshes in Guerande, which is said to form only when the wind blows from the east.
Dairy salt, is that special salt they use to pull the moisture from cheese to cure it.
Pickling salt is self-explanatory. This is used to pickle , not only pickles, but other vegetables or even Shrimp! Weird, I know, but I saw it with my own two eyes on Paula Deen's show!
Sour salt...is actually not a salt at all. Its citric acid extracted from acidic fruits like lemons or pineapples.
Rock Salt is another less unrefined salt, that actually has a gray
color to it. Rock Salt is used in ice cream machines. When I was in
elementary, I did a science experiment using Rock Salt, a metal coffee
can, a Ziploc bag, and ice cream mixture. It made a GREAT impression
with this kids!
Seasoned Salt is any type of salt with added herbs or flavorings.
Popcorn salt is a super-fine grind (almost the texture of
confectioners' sugar) of salt is generally colored yellowish-orange and
is used on popcorn for both color and flavoring.
Now that you have the facts on Salt, which one will you be reaching for on your next shopping trip!? We'd love to hear from you!
