Iodized salt - a few questions (complaints?)

[pastameshugana]

I get the basic reasoning behind iodized table salt.

 

I've never had a problem with it, really. Great for pasta water, or just kept in a dish for a quick salt addition when needed.

 

I've also really enjoyed other salts over the years. Different sea salts, and while I certainly don't have a 'golden palate' there have been times when I've tasted salt that was definitely 'better' or 'worse' than others.

 

However, recently, the iodized salt has started to really bother me, taste-wise. It's like I can suddenly taste 'it'. There's a distinct metallic tang that is really standing out to me that never has before. I've stopped using it when cooking almost universally, and on the table we've got sea salt in a grinder.

 

It's weird because it's really sudden and pronounced. The other day my wife made pasta, and used sea salt in the sauce but the iodized in the pasta water, and I could taste it on the noodles.

 

Has this ever happened to any of you? Am I becoming a salt snob? Am I destined to die of goiter because I can't stand the taste of iodized salt?

[rotuts]

@pastameshugana

 

''' Am I destined to die of goiter because I can't stand the taste of iodized salt? ''

 

if you've spent you entire life in the Chicago Area , probably .

 

if you live near the Coasts , probably not.

 

kidding aside  , the supplement in the salt is far more important 

 

for younger people , who live far away from the Sea. 

 

'''   Am I becoming a salt snob? '''

 

if you have to be a snob about something , Id make it Salt .

 

its a lot cheaper than being a Butter Snob .

 

French Cultured Butter , delivered fresh to your door , would be quite a bit costlier .

 

of course , an interesting solution would be to schedule your vacations 

 

to the Brittany Coast .   solves both problems :   a few deep breaths while hunting down

 

Gooseneck Barnacles 

 

https://brownetrading.com/products/percebes-gooseneck-barnacles?srsltid=AfmBOooc45O8U6woNOznqYMpDXOE77VrTdsqDS873VDXf119lQsnc2YD

 

and then dip them in a gallon of Brittany Cultured Butter !

[AlaMoi]

you may be particularly sensitive to certain tastes.

the most famous "sensitivity" is probably cilantro - to some it tastes like soap...  me included....

I have a similar issue with aluminum based baking powders.  that metallic twang comes right thru!

 

if you have an iodine deficiency - that takes a Dr. and some blood work - that needs to be addressed with supplements/diet.

lacking a known iodine deficiency you can switch to kosher salt / other sea salts - some of which will have trace iodine, but not to the additive level.

we haven't used iodized salt in 40+ years - we're pretty light on salt anyway - most resto food generally elicits a 'too salty' reaction.

[Shel_B]

I long ago switched from "table salt" to Diamond Crystal as my standard salt. I sometimes use other salts, such as Redmond (https://redmond.life/collections/real-salt) or Malden. But they are not for general cooking.  I could always taste something odd about table salt, and when I tried DC many years ago I never looked back.

 

There's no need for iodized salt for most people as there's so much of it in the prepared, frozen, and canned foods that most folks eat that adding it to your cooking and meals is not needed.

 

[Bernie]

Pretty sure adding iodine to salt is for areas where the soil is deficient in iodine.

The resultant crops (of lots of different species) are deficient in iodine.

Certainly, this was the case in SE Queensland. The easiest solution was to increase the iodine in salt because most people used to use it in cooking lots of different vegetables.

Also table salt was heavily refined so most minerals were removed or reduced so it was easiest just to add iodine.

 

So depends on where your table salt originates and more importantly where your vegetables originate whether you need to use iodized salt. Sea salt should have more iodine but it may not necessarily be so.

 

Your body will reject excess iodine taken in food anyway so there is no harm in using iodized salt.

 

If you can taste it, maybe there is too much iodine or it is actually a different iodine salt added to the salt.

 

Chemist needed here.,

 

 

 

[Maison Rustique]

Also, have you added any new medications lately? More often than people realize, a new medication can alter your tastes. My Mom had to  stop eating meat when she started taking a certain medication because it made me at taste metallic.

[Tropicalsenior]

Here it is impossible in the supermarkets to buy any salt without iodine. I'm not bothered At All by the taste of iodine but I make my own ham, corned beef, and pickles and I don't like to use iodized salt for preserving. I used to be able to buy kosher salt from a Jewish deli here but it went out of business so now the only place that I can buy it is in macrobiotics store. Right now my macrobiotic Guru is looking for some for me and he is even having trouble finding it.

[pastameshugana]

Thanks so much for all the input and thoughts.

 

@Maison Rustique - no new medications lately (thankfully!)

@Tropicalsenior - a shame!

 

Now I feel kind of silly, because after all the handwringing over this, and trying to figure this out, I realized that there might be a simpler answer. Our iodized 'table' salt has been stored in a metal container all this time... some googling suggests that this could likely be adding the pronounced metallic taste I've been experiencing.

 

This is good news for another reason: I despise that container and it's stupid-hard-to-open lid, so now I have a good excuse to buy a new one that I like!

 

Fingers crossed that this solves the issue.

[gfweb]

20 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Here it is impossible in the supermarkets to buy any salt without iodine. I'm not bothered At All by the taste of iodine but I make my own ham, corned beef, and pickles and I don't like to use iodized salt for preserving. I used to be able to buy kosher salt from a Jewish deli here but it went out of business so now the only place that I can buy it is in macrobiotics store. Right now my macrobiotic Guru is looking for some for me and he is even having trouble finding it.

amazon?

[Tropicalsenior]

6 hours ago, pastameshugana said:

some googling suggests that this could likely be adding the pronounced metallic taste I've been experiencing.

That could very well be because salt corrodes metal terribly as anybody that has lived near the sea or in an area where they use salt on the roads can tell you. I can't tell you how many salt shakers with metal lids I have thrown away before I learned my lesson. I keep mine in a little terracotta pot that I got at a Chinese restaurant supply store. I love it. @liuzhou tells me that it is a funeral urn but it is so small that it would have had to have been for a very tiny person.

 

37 minutes ago, gfweb said:

amazon?

I can buy things from Amazon but living in Costa Rica, the price of shipping and customs is usually three times the price of the item.

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

. @liuzhou tells me that it is a funeral urn but it is so small that it would have had to have been for a very tiny person.

 

I did? I don't recall that, but there are a lot of things I don't remember!

 

Do you have a picture?

[Tropicalsenior]

8 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I did? I don't recall that, but there are a lot of things I don't remember!

 

Do you have a picture?

It was on a thread about salt pigs if I remember correctly.

[liuzhou]

Oh yes.

 

I dont think it's that small. This one, filled with Maldon salt, is about 5½ inches / 14 cm tall and 6½ inches /  16.75 cm diameter at the top. I have three of them, all used for salt of various kinds, none iodized.

 

Maybe I meant an urn for the deceased; not a receptacle for the body! It's certainly larger than the ash urns I've seen too many of.

 

Regular table salt is also iodized here, too but not always. I have the choice, but seldom think about it. Never tasted anything metallic.

 

 

 

Edited 24 minutes ago by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

Mine is only two and a half inches tall and a little less than 4 in in diameter. They had them in four sizes and this one was the smallest.