# Is there really any difference between "sea salt" and "regular salt"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075 "2011-11-06T17:52:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/21 "2011-11-07T19:02:06Z")
Has anyone ver marketed Lake Bonneville salt? Ought to be a hit with the stock car crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/22 "2011-11-07T21:53:04Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > If you like the texture of the larger flakes of sea salt, as opposed to the small grains of table salt, just buy a box of kosher salt. It is a lot cheaper than sea salt and offers the same large crystals. > > I find that by sprinkling a small amount of kosher salt on food I get the taste I want while using much less salt than when using shaker salt. I mix kosher with regular table salt. I suppose I could just buy iodized kosher salt and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/23 "2011-11-08T00:03:09Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Pretty much, “sea salt” is not purified and has no additives such as iodine or anti-caking agents (“When it rains, it pours”). Holy SHIT! That’s what that means? I have never in my life understood that damn line. It never occurred to me that it was referring to it not caking. :smack: I feel like such a dumbass now! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/24 "2011-11-08T00:13:15Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > One comes from the sea. > > Or rather, once comes from the sea as it is exists now, and the other comes from rock salt, which came from a sea that existed far back in geological time. > > As such, the 'regular 'salt is probably cleaner… Wait! Sea salt is getting continually washed, and “regular” salt buried in dirt! Eww. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/25 "2011-11-08T01:12:28Z")
I’m not sure why, but sea salt is the only one that comes in a variety of different flavors (I’m talking great flavors here, not popcorn salt or crap like that). So even if you taste no difference in plain white sea salt, you’re missing out on some great flavored salts that the regular table salt folks just don’t make. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/26 "2011-11-08T01:28:18Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Holy SHIT! That’s what that means? I have never in my life understood that damn line. It never occurred to me that it was referring to it not caking. :smack: > > I feel like such a dumbass now! That’s what the [umbrella girl](http://www.mortonsalt.com/heritage/mug.html) on the Morton’s salt package is all about – it’s raining, but her salt is still pouring. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/27 "2011-11-08T01:48:22Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Wait! Sea salt is getting continually washed, and “regular” salt buried in dirt! Eww. That’s what YOU think! “Sea Salt” is made in ponds along the seashore. Which means it has dead bugs, bird shit, and dried insect parts in it. Yum!😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/28 "2011-11-08T02:51:23Z")
In the USA “sea salt” just means salt with a ocean origin. It is usually purified and refined. Sometimes even iodized. It is regular table salt for all purposes but price. Now, in France, what they mean by “sea salt” is (wiki) _Fleur de sel (“Flower of salt” in French) is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans.[1] Traditional French fleur de sel is collected off the coast of Brittany most notably in the towns of Guérande (Fleur de Sel de Guérande being the most revered), but also in Noirmoutier, Ile de Ré and Camargue. It is an artisanal food product. Due to its relative scarcity, fleur de sel is one of the more expensive salts._ It does have a differnent flavor. It is also grey with little specks in it. It is cleaned but not refined. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/29 "2011-11-08T02:53:39Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > That’s what the [umbrella girl](http://www.mortonsalt.com/heritage/mug.html) on the Morton’s salt package is all about – it’s raining, but her salt is still pouring. Wow, I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel dumber than I already did. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/30 "2011-11-08T04:44:40Z")
I remember when I vacationed on the Florida Gulf Coast as a kid I was amused by the sight of uncooked rice grains mixed in the salt shakers on the table at restaurants…apparently the rice helps keeps the salt from caking in the humid air…Morton’s tagline notwithstanding… ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/31 "2011-11-08T05:05:57Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Wow, I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel dumber than I already did. :smack: We still love you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/32 "2011-11-08T06:31:11Z")
Without reading the thread, sea salt has more minerals and may make a difference to the sophisticated palette, but for the general connoisseur the main difference comes from the grain size (think about how table NaCl salt tastes different from pretzel NaCl salt). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/33 "2011-11-08T09:41:24Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > If you like the texture of the larger flakes of sea salt, as opposed to the small grains of table salt, just buy a box of kosher salt. It is a lot cheaper than sea salt and offers the same large crystals. > > I find that by sprinkling a small amount of kosher salt on food I get the taste I want while using much less salt than when using shaker salt. No - depending on what kind of sea salt you get, the texture can be VERY different from kosher salt, as can the whole aesthetic experience. I like Cypress sea salt as a finishing salt to use at the table - the flaky crystals are delicate and beautiful to look at, and they crunch and melt in your mouth in a way that is completely dissimilar to kosher salt, which is hard and compacted. Here’s a photo of some black Cypress sea salt - it is simply lovely. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3210/2775641988_2bf6eca89a_b.jpg "Black Cypress Sea Salt") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/semarr/2775641988/) I agree that for most cooking any old salt will do and you are wasting your money if you put the expensive stuff in soup, bread, or cookies, for example. But at the dinner table the right salt can be a real treat. Just last night I got my son to eat steamed zucchini without complaint because he was so entranced by the beautiful crystals in the Cypress sea salt. Few other salts would have succeeded - or if they did, they would have succeeded on a similar basis: in other words, because the appearance and/or texture is unusual and enjoyable. Kosher salt is good too, by the way. It’s just different from some of the sea salts I’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/34 "2011-11-08T22:47:32Z")
There are many foods advertising the use of sea salt to lower the sodium content. One example is Campbell’s Soup. One would presume that the salt is fully dissolved in the soup, so what difference does it make? How can sea salt mean less sodium? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/35 "2011-11-08T23:18:18Z")
The “salt” part of table salt (neglecting the iodine and anti-caking agents mentioned above) is 100% NaCl, while sea salt has some salts with Mg, Ca and K replacing some of the Na (and Br, sulfates, carbonates and a few other things replacing some of the Cl, but that’s not what we’re concerned with). By weight, it means that sea salt has about 15 per cent less sodium for the same volume as table salt. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/36 "2011-11-09T02:44:58Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > There are many foods advertising the use of sea salt to lower the sodium content. One example is Campbell’s Soup. One would presume that the salt is fully dissolved in the soup, so what difference does it make? How can sea salt mean less sodium? They just use less. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/37 "2011-11-09T03:44:03Z")
Just mentioning: one of the anti-sea-salt sentiments here seems to be consideration about price. Morton’s sells an iodized sea salt that’s only marginally more expensive than their kosher salt or standard salt. I use kosher for finishing, and sea salt for cooking. I vastly prefer the sea salt to plan table salt, because it’s easier to measure, pinch, and detect undissolved bits. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/38 "2011-11-09T05:47:47Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Just mentioning: one of the anti-sea-salt sentiments here seems to be consideration about price. Morton’s sells an iodized sea salt that’s only marginally more expensive than their kosher salt or standard salt.. There is no detectable difference between Mortons Iodized Sea salt and their regular table salt. Like I said, purified and refined sea salt is basically table salt. Grey salts and other similar products do have a slightly different taste, and some have a different texture. Kosher salt only has a different texture (well except that Kosher salt is rarely iodized, which can be tasted in a nigh flavorless broth, etc). ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/39 "2011-11-09T06:10:56Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Without reading the thread, sea salt has more minerals and may make a difference to the sophisticated palette, but for the general connoisseur the main difference comes from the grain size (think about how table NaCl salt tastes different from pretzel NaCl salt). Wendy’s started using sea salt on their fries a few months ago and I can DEFINITELY taste a difference and I’d say I have far from what constitutes a refined palette. (I once got in a huge imbroglio here for claiming tonic water was sweet when 500 more people chimed in to insist it was bitter. I SWEAR it tastes like unflavored, carbonated Kool-Aid to me!) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075/40 "2011-11-09T08:00:47Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > I SWEAR it tastes like unflavored, carbonated Kool-Aid to me!) Let me offer a bit of support for that. I wouldn’t say that there is no bitter edge at all, but definitely the taste is very sweet. Sweetness predominates - bitter is there only faintly, to take the edge off of how sweet it is. (Clearly, you and I have more evolved taste buds than the masses 😛 ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-any-difference-between-sea-salt-and-regular-salt/602075.md?page=3)