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Diamond Crystal salt changes

dans

By dans
in Kitchen Consumer

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dans

dans

Posted
Posted

I searched for an appropriate thread to post this but didn’t see one. Moderators feel free to move it. 
 

I’ve been using Diamond Crystal kosher salt forever. I was down to the end of a box so I bought another one. After cursing them for downsizing the box from 5lbs to 4lbs, I bought it went home. 
 

Today I had to refill my salt pot and when I went to use it was so fine I had trouble distinguishing it from table salt. 
 

I am so disappointed. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
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I went to check my Diamond Crystal box and it is indeed 3 pounds.  Unfortunately it is close to empty.  I was sure I had a new unopened box in the bedroom.  None could be found.  I probably have a box of Diamond Crystal...somewhere.

 

Tangentially, with regard to Fine, doesn't it make more sense to choose your salt shaker based on your preferred size of salt crystal than the other way around?

 

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
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17 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I went to check my Diamond Crystal box and it is indeed 3 pounds.  Unfortunately it is close to empty.  I was sure I had a new unopened box in the bedroom.  None could be found.  I probably have a box of Diamond Crystal...somewhere.

 

Tangentially, with regard to Fine, doesn't it make more sense to choose your salt shaker based on your preferred size of salt crystal than the other way around?

 

 

I believe he is filling his salt pot, not his salt shaker.

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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1 minute ago, ElsieD said:

 

I believe he is filling his salt pot, not his salt shaker.

 

Understood.  I was responding to the product page linked by @DesertTinker.

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
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21 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Tangentially, with regard to Fine, doesn't it make more sense to choose your salt shaker based on your preferred size of salt crystal than the other way around?

I suppose. My Bug-A-Salt rifle (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) requires fine table salt and jams up with Diamond Crystal Kosher and I’ve always gotten the 3lb box of it. Never seen a 5 lb as the OP is accustomed to. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and concern.  I found my missing box of Diamond Crystal.

 

@blue_dolphin, do what I do.  When I want fine salt I grind my Diamond Crystal in a mortar.  I don't have a Bug-A-Salt, but grinding in a mortar is the method I use when baking bread.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I went to check my Diamond Crystal box and it is indeed 3 pounds.  Unfortunately it is close to empty.  I was sure I had a new unopened box in the bedroom.  None could be found.  I probably have a box of Diamond Crystal...somewhere.


I recently ran out myself and after surprisingly bad prices from Amazon and Webstaurant, etc. I found the 3 pounders at my local Wegmans.

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Midlife

Midlife

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As long as we’re cool here with Diamond Crystal I need to ask if anyone is familiar with the Lior brand from Israel. I couldn’t find Diamond Crystal and was making pickles so I bought it at the Persian market where I buy Persian cukes and dill. I know that Diamond Crystal isn’t as salty as Morton’s but does anyone know how they compare to Lior. The pickles came out pretty much like the ones I make with DC, so I think I’m OK. I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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15 minutes ago, Vapre said:


I recently ran out myself and after surprisingly bad prices from Amazon and Webstaurant, etc. I found the 3 pounders at my local Wegmans.

 

Here at the start of the pandemic Diamond Crystal was like toilet paper*.  Not to be had for love or money.  At the moment amazon is offering the three pound box of Diamond Crystal for $7.79 -- bargain at any price.  Speaking economics, I recall in school being asked to name an inelastic commodity.  I responded "blood".  I might as well have just said "salt".

 

 

*not suggesting Diamond Crystal be relied on for urogenital hygiene.  Use at your own risk.  My amazon order of toilet paper arrives tomorrow.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
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20 minutes ago, Midlife said:

As long as we’re cool here with Diamond Crystal I need to ask if anyone is familiar with the Lior brand from Israel. I couldn’t find Diamond Crystal and was making pickles so I bought it at the Persian market where I buy Persian cukes and dill. I know that Diamond Crystal isn’t as salty as Morton’s but does anyone know how they compare to Lior. The pickles came out pretty much like the ones I make with DC, so I think I’m OK. I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure. 

 

Salt is salt.  Pretty much, depending on trace minerals and contaminates.  "Saltiness" varies by volume but it does not vary in cooking terms by weight.  Weigh your salt till you are familiar with it.

 

If a recipe calls for "salt" I add half as much Diamond Crystal Kosher salt by volume as called for.

 

For pickles you need to be particularly careful about trace contaminates in your salt.  However pickles are outside my realm of expertise.

 

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

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Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:At the moment amazon is offering the three pound box of Diamond Crystal for $7.79 -- bargain at any price.

 

33 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

At the moment amazon is offering the three pound box of Diamond Crystal for $7.79 -- bargain at any price.

 

When I price-checked Amazon a few months back when I was in need, it was around $9 or $10 a box. Wegmans had it cheaper and it’s currently 5.99/3LB.

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Anna N

Anna N

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8 hours ago, Vapre said:

 

When I price-checked Amazon a few months back when I was in need, it was around $9 or $10 a box. Wegmans had it cheaper and it’s currently 5.99/3LB.

Just out of curiosity not out of need thank heaven I looked at the price of a 3 pound box on amazon.ca. It is $19.99 Canadian dollars. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
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48 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

A question for Canadians:  does anyone use Windsor Kosher salt?  I used to use DC until I noticed Windsor, a Canadian company.  I've been using it ever since I first spotted it.

I don't pickle a lot, but that's the one I always buy. I find the purity to be fine for my purposes, and because I always use weight rather than volume measures for this sort of thing the grain size is immaterial.

 

I'm not even certain which other brands are available here.

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Shelby

Shelby

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20 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I suppose. My Bug-A-Salt rifle (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) requires fine table salt and jams up with Diamond Crystal Kosher and I’ve always gotten the 3lb box of it. Never seen a 5 lb as the OP is accustomed to. 

We have two of these!!!  

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Anna N

Anna N

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14 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I knew we were kindred spirits!  Or maybe just silly 🙃 

I hope you are both carefully checking the expiry date on the salt you are using in these guns. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Midlife

Midlife

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17 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Salt is salt.  Pretty much, depending on trace minerals and contaminates.  "Saltiness" varies by volume but it does not vary in cooking terms by weight.  Weigh your salt till you are familiar with it.

 

If a recipe calls for "salt" I add half as much Diamond Crystal Kosher salt by volume as called for.

 

For pickles you need to be particularly careful about trace contaminates in your salt.  However pickles are outside my realm of expertise.

 

 

So I just measured Lior against Diamond Crystal. 1 teaspoon of Lior weighed 6 grams vs 4 grams for DC. That’s a bit different than the ratio I’d been given for Morton’s vs DC, which was 3:2 by volume or, converting, 5.3 grams of Morton’s (if my math is right). 
 

All this just underscores the importance of using weight not volume where Crystal size varies. Unfortunately the 2nd Avenue Deli pickle recipe gives only a volume specification. 🥴

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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39 minutes ago, Shelby said:

We have two of these!!!  

 

I confess I've had one sitting in my amazon cart for several years.  Do you have the laser sight?

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
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2 hours ago, Midlife said:

All this just underscores the importance of using weight not volume where Crystal size varies. Unfortunately the 2nd Avenue Deli pickle recipe gives only a volume specification. 🥴

 

Does it say anywhere in the recipe or in the book what brand of salt they prefer?

 

 

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Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

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IMHO salt should be measured by weight     A teaspoon of Diamond Crystal is not the same as a teaspoon of Morton's table and certainly not Maldon.    In the country, where son and others may be cooking and baking, I have labeled salt as "table" and "baking".  

1443735202_ScreenShot2022-08-28at6_53_54PM.png.e0a3ed277dc2b457728d45c956ff033f.png

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