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4 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

Could you say a little more about why kosher salt is better than table salt?

Sure. This is within the context of cooking, not using on the table. (Though I will admit, I hadn't purchased table salt in over a decade until I was recently forced by circumstance into doing.)

Table salt often has unnecessary additives such as iodine and anticaking agents like magnesium carbonate and sodium aluminosilicate. The particle size of table salt is the smallest of all the most common salts, which means that it weighs much more by volume. This small particle size is designed to facilitate flow from a shaker, but it's a liability when trying to dose salt by the pinch, dash, or spoonful. Because it's so highly concentrated by volume and because it's designed to flow quickly, over-seasoning is a constant worry. Also, I just don't like to touch the stuff. It's unpleasant on the fingers.

Neither do I care for the giant flakes of Morton's kosher salt. That is a good choice for actually doing koshering or salting meat, but the large particle size makes it difficult to get an even coating without over-seasoning. The large grains can also pose a liability when baking. The giant grains also take forever to dissolve in a brine.

Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the ideal particle size to actually touch with your hands. It's actually a mix of fine to medium sized particles, which makes it easy to grab and dose out with your fingers. It's easy to get even coverage when seasoning meat and vegetables without over-seasoning. Anecdotally, Diamond Crystal seems to be preferred by the vast majority of chefs for the reason that it's the perfect salt to actually season food with while you're cooking. And because the grains aren't super huge, you can bake with it as well, and it dissolves into brines relatively quickly. It's the best general purpose kitchen salt.