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Diamond Crystal salt changes

dans

By dans
in Kitchen Consumer

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

since ten thousand years ago, Diamond has been "renown" aka "famous" for the crystal flakes of "kosher salt" vs. the "big chunks" of other "kosher salts"

 

DC started producing its salt in 1886 (I understand you were just being silly or hyperbolic since you may not have known when DC started producing its salt). Cargill is producing the salt in its original (although updated) facilities.

 

Diamond Crystal uses the Alberger Process to produce its "crystal flakes."  In the business, DC is sometimes referred to as Alberger salt.  The process creates hollow, pyramid-shaped grains which account for the salt’s lightness and thin walls, and that form and wall thickness contribute to its crushability.

 

 

Edited by Shel_B
Clarity and precision (log)
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 ... Shel


 

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

As mentioned upthread, I have both box designs and the contents are the same.

 

54403801075_50d2ac9961_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

I think that the box on the right has similar sized grains as the left...except for a very few large flakes

weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

I think that the box on the right has similar sized grains as the left...except for a very few large flakes

 

I think that the box on the right has "absolute consistency!"  Even though it looks as if the box on the left fulfills that statement to a higher degree.

 

 

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, Rickbern said:

I think this is one of the worst package redesigns that I can recall. Clearly, solving a problem that never existed. 

 

The "problem" didn't exist until Cargill decided to move DC to a more consumer-oriented product. For many years the salt was marketed towards professionals, and the product was found frequently in many restaurant kitchens. It was often difficult to find in supermarkets and even in some geographic areas of the country. There was a brief period where I could not find the product in any local supermarket, and resorted to having my sister send me some from NYC.

 

Cargill expects to increase sales of DC substantially. Due in great part to the "rebranding," Cargill is looking to boost annual revenue from $3 million to $50 million.

 

It should also be noted that at one point a few years ago, Cargill was thinking of doing away with the ubiquitous 3-lb package altogether.  Samin Nosrat, the cookbook author, expressed her concern about this on social media, and a lot of customers unhappy with the news created a brouhaha about the possibility, and some (many?) have said that the protestations of these loyal DC customers influenced Cargill to keep the package size.

 

Cargill wanted to change their market strategy and increase sales. Be happy that the 3-lb box is still available and that the market for a well-loved and special product has expanded, making it easier for those who want to use the product to obtain it.

 

FWIW, I prefer the older package design, but more so, I like the idea of being able to easily find and get hold of the product. Cargill could package it in a burlap sack as long as I can get my fingers around those lovely, pyramid-shaped crystals.

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted

Comparison of Diamond Crystal salt crystals

Sorry for the slight delay in getting this posted ...

 

The top grouping is from a commercial box that was purchased almost a year ago. The lower grouping is from a commercial box that was purchased about 8 days ago.

 

 

DCCrystals.thumb.jpg.b20508580fe22dc7f87f1cd4409ccf20.jpg

 

 

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Rickbern

Rickbern

Posted
Posted
On 3/23/2025 at 4:40 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

The new package has a reclosable tab. I don't see how it's inferior to the old design. Maybe I am missing something.

I think the graphic design takes an iconic, instantly identifiable product and turns it bland and vanilla. But I agree, the tab is definitely an improvement. 

dans

dans

Posted
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Posted
On 3/21/2025 at 9:20 AM, Shel_B said:

That won't work. Think about why we weigh ingredients ... I doubt it's possible to get volumes precise enough to make such a comparison.

 

My scale measures down to 1/10 of a gram.

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
On 3/21/2025 at 6:20 AM, Shel_B said:

That won't work. Think about why we weigh ingredients ... I doubt it's possible to get volumes precise enough to make such a comparison.


I believe that it is indeed possible to measure volumes of salt with sufficient precision to determine whether the two samples differ enough to impact cooking results.  If you weigh 10 separate 1T (or 1 tsp or 1 cup, depending on your scale) measurements of the two salts, taking reasonable care, and if there is no difference, I’d contend they are interchangeable.  

You may prefer one texture to another when used for finishing but that’s a different question. 
 

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C. sapidus

C. sapidus

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:


I believe that it is indeed possible to measure volumes of salt with sufficient precision to determine whether the two samples differ enough to impact cooking results.  If you weigh 10 separate 1T (or 1 tsp or 1 cup, depending on your scale) measurements of the two salts, taking reasonable care, and if there is no difference, I’d contend they are interchangeable. 
 

 

^ This. And if you used a container with a narrow neck (test tube, or even better, a volumetric flask) the weight-per-volume measurement will be more accurate.

Bruce, a.k.a C. sapidus

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:


I believe that it is indeed possible to measure volumes of salt with sufficient precision to determine whether the two samples differ enough to impact cooking results.  

I agree with that completely, BUT, we've drifted a little off course here. The original intent here was to determine the size of Diamond Crystal salt flakes, not weight or suitability to various cooking intentions. 

Edited by Shel_B (log)

 ... Shel


 

FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Shel_B said:

The original intent here was to determine the size of Diamond Crystal salt flakes, not weight or suitability to various cooking intentions. 

 

I've read this over a couple of times but I am at a loss - why would you care about the former if you don't care about the latter two items? 

Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

And many of us have scales, used to measure various "modernist pantry" type ingredients, in quite small quantities...

 

 

 

Same, living the 'hydrocolloid homie' life.

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