Kosher Salt

[Norman Walsh]

I would like to know that when I substitute table salt for kosher salt in a recipe, is it about the same strength weightwise ?

Thanks

Norman Walsh

[Marlene]

According to bread baker's apprentice, salt volumes are different

Salt weight volume

Table 1 oz 4 teaspoons

Kosher 1 oz 7 teaspoons

Sea 1 oz 6 teaspoons

or

Table .25 oz 1 teaspoon

Kosher .25 oz 1 3/4 teaspoon

Sea .25 oz 1 1/2 teaspoon

I haven't measured these myself though

[qrn]

I would like to know that when I substitute table salt for kosher salt in a recipe, is it about the same strength weightwise ?

Thanks

Norman Walsh

←

By weight they are the same...Only when you volume measure does it change..

Bud

[russ parsons]

this is something i deal with a lot. it's also important to note that "kosher" and "coarse" are not synonymous, though i think most people assume something like diamond crystal. there are fine kosher salts, too. so it's more like "table salt" and "coarse salt".

[Jmahl]

In general terms kosher salt is salt used for koshering meat according to Jewish dietary law.

[russ parsons]

In general terms kosher salt is salt used for koshering meat according to Jewish dietary law.

←

this is true, but that says nothing about how finely it is milled, which is the operative factor in the different measures. coarse salt occupies more space per weight than fine salt.

[Fat Guy]

there are fine kosher salts, too

←

I confess I was not aware of this. I thought kosher salt was by definition coarse salt. I understand, of course, that ALL salt is kosher (unless it is somehow mixed with unkosher ingredients or processed on unkosher machinery), and most salt sold in American supermarkets bears kosher certification, but I thought the term "kosher salt" always specifically referred to coarse-grain salt.

[slkinsey]

this is something i deal with a lot. it's also important to note that "kosher" and "coarse" are not synonymous, though i think most people assume something like diamond crystal. there are fine kosher salts, too. so it's more like "table salt" and "coarse salt".

I think this is not entirely correct. It is not called "kosher salt" to mean that the salt is kosher. Rather, it is the salt that is used in the process of koshering. It should be called "koshering salt" rather than kosher salt. Kashrus specifies coarse salt for koshering. Here is a description from the Orthodox Union:

The Torah forbids the consumption of the blood of an animal. The two Torah accepted methods of extracting blood from meat, a process referred to as “koshering”, are either salting or broiling.

Meat should not be placed in warm water before it has been “koshered”. Once meat is cooked prior to koshering, it cannot be made kosher.

1. Salting:

The meat must first be soaked for a half hour in cool (not ice) water in a utensil designated only for that purpose. After allowing for excess water to drip off the meat, the meat is thoroughly salted so that the entire surface is covered with a thin layer of salt. Only coarse salt should be used. Both sides of meat and poultry must be salted. All inside loose sections of poultry must be removed before the koshering process begins. Each part must be soaked and salted individually.

The emphasis is mine. This is all to say that if one were to take kosher salt and grind it to a fine powder, it would no longer be kosher salt (it would still be pareve, however).

Edited March 7, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[russ parsons]

this is interesting. have you ever compared diamond crystal and morton's kosher salts? there is a big difference in the size of the flake, but perhaps that difference is more of degree. i don't recall morton's being quite as fine as table salt, but nearly so (i haven't bought it in several years, so i'm going by memory).

[Jim Dixon]

From the Salt Institute, an industry group:

Not all types of kosher salt look similar due to the manufacturer’s process that is used to produce the Kosher Salt crystal.  Some crystals are the coarsest product of the Alberger process of salt recrystallization which involves an open-pan method of formation, while other companies use a compaction technique to produce the coarser crystal, combined with grinding that forms a resulting coarser evaporated salt format.  Kosher Salt can also be produced from solar salt.

I know that Cargill produces Diamond Crystal by injecting fresh water into salt deposits, then extracting the brine and evaporting under pressure to create the pyramid-shaped crystals. I'm not sure if that's the Alberger process mentioned above.

Jim

[Restorer]

On an episode of America's Test Kitchen I saw just recently, they mentioned equivalencies for table salt, Morton's kosher salt, and Diamond Crystal kosher salt. 1 cup of table salt is equivalent to 1.5 cups of Morton's kosher is equivalent to 2 cups of Diamond Crystal kosher.

[slkinsey]

this is interesting. have you ever compared diamond crystal and morton's kosher salts? there is a big difference in the size of the flake, but perhaps that difference is more of degree. i don't recall morton's being quite as fine as table salt, but nearly so (i haven't bought it in several years, so i'm going by memory).

As chance would have it, I happen to have both Diamond and Morton kosher salt at home. Morton is a little smaller in size than Diamond. Morton also includes an anticaking agent, because they still want to make sure that "when it rains, it pours" (although I am not sure this would be an issue with coarse salt). But both are substantially larger in size than table salt. I don't think there are any laws as to specific size -- e.g., must be not less than ___ in diameter -- just that it has to be "coarse" salt.

I'm not sure if that's the Alberger process mentioned above.

Wikipedia says: "It involves mechanical evaporation, and uses an open evaporating pan and steam energy. It results in a unique, three-dimensional flake salt of extremely light bulk density."

Edited March 8, 2007 by slkinsey (log)