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Kosher Salt?


Mr Wozencroft

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There's a new recipe that I'm using that requires a substantial amount of salt to be dissolved in cooking water (1.25 cups per 2-quarts water).  I intend to make this recipe a few times per month, therefore, I expect to go through a fair amount of salt.

 

I'm hoping to find salt that's available in boxes of up to around 5-lbs and that has either an easy pour spout or a top that will allow dipping a measuring cup into the box.  I don't necessarily want Diamond Crystal for this purpose, rather, a salt with a sodium content of a more typical table salt will do.  I don't want additives, iodine, or anticaking agents.  Just a simple, plain salt.

 

Suggestions?

 ... Shel


 

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Shel_B, do you have something like a Whole Foods Coop (not the grocery store Whole Foods) in your area? If so, you can buy salt in bulk and put it in your own container. Where I live, we can bring our own containers, get the tare weight, and fill them at the store. It's very economical way to purchase bulk seasonings and spices.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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FWIW, All salt has the same sodium content. Sea salt contains other trace elements (insignificant quantities), and anything sold as table salt can have up to 2% in additives (anti clumping stuff, iodide, etc... but I believe these have to be on the label).

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Notes from the underbelly

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You probably do want a pickling salt or a kosher salt or a plain sea salt if you don't want iodine or anti-caking agents. Pickling salt is often sold in large quantities.

 

Pickling salt can be very fine-grained to make it dissolve more quickly so using 1 cup will contain more salt per volume than 1 cup of a coarser salt. This may be why it can appear to be saltier than other salts. Here's a good explanation:

 

http://foodinjars.com/2010/08/canning-101-on-substituting-salt-in-pickling/

 

So, if you want to make sure you have the right degree of salinity in your recipe, you might want to try and measure by weight rather than volume or at least make sure you are using a similar salt crystal to the one in your recipe - or just trial and error until you work it out for yourself! Then again, it depends on what you are cooking - a slight variation may not make that much difference. 

Edited by FauxPas (log)
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So, if you want to make sure you have the right degree of salinity in your recipe, you might want to try and measure by weight ...

Yes. Measuring by weight will remove all guesswork. The choice of salt is much less significant.

Edited by paulraphael (log)
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Notes from the underbelly

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You probably do want a pickling salt or a kosher salt or a plain sea salt if you don't want iodine or anti-caking agents. Pickling salt is often sold in large quantities.

 

Pickling salt can be very fine-grained to make it dissolve more quickly so using 1 cup will contain more salt per volume than 1 cup of a coarser salt. This may be why it can appear to be saltier than other salts. Here's a good explanation:

 

http://foodinjars.com/2010/08/canning-101-on-substituting-salt-in-pickling/

 

So, if you want to make sure you have the right degree of salinity in your recipe, you might want to try and measure by weight rather than volume or at least make sure you are using a similar salt crystal to the one in your recipe - or just trial and error until you work it out for yourself! Then again, it depends on what you are cooking - a slight variation may not make that much difference. 

 

Thanks for the tip about pickling salt.  Seems like it's along the lines of what I want.  The link to the web page was useful as well, and the site seems like it will be one I'll visit again.

 

Slight variations won't matter much, if at all.  I've made the recipe twice with different salt levels as I'm still figuring out just how much is needed for my own taste.

 ... Shel


 

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I use a lot of salt. I like to bake my fish or root vegetables buried under coarse salt. I use it for kimchi.

I usually buy coarse sea salt from Trapani Sicily in 1 kg bag from my local deli at 1.99 a kg. I find salt to be so expensive in the US.

I was looking also into Korean sea salt as a good alternative. Looking for it on Amazon I find it still too expensive for what it is...likely going into a Korean store it's cheaper if and when it's easy to access.

Edited by Franci (log)
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In this area, canning/pickling salt is available...at some groceries...in 25 pound sacks for $5-$6.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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In this area, canning/pickling salt is available...at some groceries...in 25 pound sacks for $5-$6.

 

In regular grocery stores, or specialty shops?  I've never seen anything like that here, but then I've never looked.  I suspect that it would be more available in rural areas than in the city.

 ... Shel


 

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Measuring salt volumetrically is a bad idea. The same volume of different salts can differ by more than 200% in terms of weight. All salt contains essentially the same amount of sodium, so use whatever kind of salt you want. Just weigh it first.

 

In this case, while weight may be more accurate, volume will be fine.  Most likely, I won't be using different salts once I find one that meets my preferences.  And whether by weight or volume, I'll still be playing around a bit to get the salinity of the water just right.

 ... Shel


 

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In regular grocery stores, or specialty shops?  I've never seen anything like that here, but then I've never looked.  I suspect that it would be more available in rural areas than in the city.

 

In a regular grocery store.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Franci raises a good point. I have a couple of bags of sea salt (coarse and fine) that I bought in some Oriental grocery store or other. If the bulk store idea doesn't work out, you're bound to have access to an Oriental grocer or three.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx; twitter.com/egullet

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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Berkeley Bowl sells sea salt in its bulk dept/ baking dept. Ask at Customer Service if you don't see it. IIRC, it's pure sea salt. If you want canning salt specifically, also ask for it if you don't see it. That store has so much stuff tucked away in the weirdest places. good luck.

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I use a lot of salt. I like to bake my fish or root vegetables buried under coarse salt. I use it for kimchi.

I usually buy coarse sea salt from Trapani Sicily in 1 kg bag from my local deli at 1.99 a kg. I find salt to be so expensive in the US.

I was looking also into Korean sea salt as a good alternative. Looking for it on Amazon I find it still too expensive for what it is...likely going into a Korean store it's cheaper if and when it's easy to access.

 

Thanks for the great suggestion.  Maybe after the weekend I'll have a chance to chase down some bulk salt.

 ... Shel


 

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Berkeley Bowl sells sea salt in its bulk dept/ baking dept. Ask at Customer Service if you don't see it. IIRC, it's pure sea salt. If you want canning salt specifically, also ask for it if you don't see it. That store has so much stuff tucked away in the weirdest places. good luck.

 

GREAT IDEA!  and I'm over there every now and then anyway.  Thanks!

 ... Shel


 

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As others have suggested, Canning and Pickling salt is probably your best bet.  It is 100% salt and dissolves quicker than kosher salt, is pretty inexpensive and comes in a 4 lb box.  It is in grocery stores but sometimes it is stocked with canning jars instead of with other salt.

Here is the kind I use. 

DSCN1349_zpse071edf0.jpg

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As others have suggested, Canning and Pickling salt is probably your best bet.  It is 100% salt and dissolves quicker than kosher salt, is pretty inexpensive and comes in a 4 lb box.  It is in grocery stores but sometimes it is stocked with canning jars instead of with other salt.

Here is the kind I use. 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/DSCN1349_zpse071edf0.jpg

 

Thanks!  It has the same sodium content as the table salt I've been using recently, no additives, and it comes in a nice, easy-handling box.  This looks like a good place to start while I experiment further with the recipe and look at the other salt possibilities.

Edited by Shel_B (log)

 ... Shel


 

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Tell us about the recipe, Shel.  Stop coming over all mysterious on us!

 

 

Boil and simmer red potatoes in heavily salted water (1.25 cups salt in two quarts water) until tender.  Put them on rack to dry.

 

Oil a baking pan and put the potatoes in the pan.  Squash them until about 1/2-inch thick.  Brush cider or, preferably, malt vinegar over the tops of the potatoes - not too heavy, but enough to soak in a bit.

 

Roast the potatoes in a hot oven (I used the Breville) for about 25 - 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, lightly brush a little more vinegar on the potatoes along with a very light coating of good olive oil, grind some pepper over, and Bob's your uncle.

 

The insides get creamy and soft, the outside a little crunchy, and they are not at all overly salty.

 

Still playing around with technique, times, temp, salt percentage, but even as they are, they are very good.

 

 

Edited by Shel_B (log)
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 ... Shel


 

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Thanks!  It has the same sodium content as the table salt I've been using recently...

Where are you getting this? All salt has the same sodium content. And it all tastes the same once it's disolved in water. If you're seeing differences in nutrient values on a package, it will be because they're measuring by volume and the salts vary in grain size/density. If they measured by weight the numbers would be the same.

 

It's one reason you should consider using weight. If you figure out your recipe by volume, you'll be dependent on that brand of salt. If you measure by weight, you'll be able to use any salt with any grain size, if you run out, or if availabilty changes.

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Notes from the underbelly

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Where are you getting this? All salt has the same sodium content. And it all tastes the same once it's disolved in water. If you're seeing differences in nutrient values on a package, it will be because they're measuring by volume and the salts vary in grain size/density. If they measured by weight the numbers would be the same.

 

It's one reason you should consider using weight. If you figure out your recipe by volume, you'll be dependent on that brand of salt. If you measure by weight, you'll be able to use any salt with any grain size, if you run out, or if availabilty changes.

 

Thanks for your admonishments.  The salt content on a container of salt (at least all the containers I have seen) is measured by volume.  The two salts in question have the same sodium content by measure. 

 

As I said earlier: 

 

In this case, while weight may be more accurate, volume will be fine.  Most likely, I won't be using different salts once I find one that meets my preferences.  And whether by weight or volume, I'll still be playing around a bit to get the salinity of the water just right.

 

If I have to change salt, I know how to make the conversions. 

 

What I was interested in was finding a salt that met specific requirements, and it seems as though there are a couple of options in that regard. 

 ... Shel


 

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