# Kosher salt: Fad?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 22, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071 "2010-08-22T15:10:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/1 "2010-08-22T15:10:04Z")
We’re talking about plain old NaCl here right? In bigger flakes?
I can see how it would add crunch if added on top of cooked goods, but [sprinkling it on chicken and then browning it for stew](http://www.grouprecipes.com/42280/cajun-chicken-stew.html) doesn’t seem logical to me. Wouldn’t plain old table salt do just as well? Or do recipes specify kosher salt just to be all fancy and “classy”, or something.
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### Author:  [@lexi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexi)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/2 "2010-08-22T15:32:58Z")
Regarding salts, sea salt is unrefined, table salt and kosher are refined. Table salt has additives such as Iodine. Kosher salt does not have any additives. The larger grain of kosher salt is more efficient at pulling the moisture from meats, which is why it is used in cooking meat. I also use it for pickling (no additives).
Chefs have been using kosher salt for ages because of the lack of additives - it has nothing to do with being fancy.
I can get a box of kosher salt 2 times the size of table salt for the same price as table salt - so it can be pretty cheap.
Here is a web page on some other varieties of salt.
[http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Exotic-Herbs-Spices-and-Salts-639/culinary-salt-guide.aspx](http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Exotic-Herbs-Spices-and-Salts-639/culinary-salt-guide.aspx)
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### Author:  [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/3 "2010-08-22T15:37:59Z")
I think it’s less a fad than it is a case of something that was underutilized previously, and now everybody’s on the bandwagon. Like balsamic vinegar was 10 or 15 years ago.
I use it mainly for seasoning stuff before I grill it, I don’t sprinkle it on already-cooked food.
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/4 "2010-08-22T15:43:57Z")
One brand of kosher salt I read definitely had additives- yellow prussiate of soda as an anti-caking ingredient. The brand next to it didn’t.
Fish and whales poo in the sea, right?
Sea salt is unrefined-
Why does sea salt taste so good?
Whale and fish poo!!!
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/5 "2010-08-22T16:04:38Z")
I can get a much more precise amount of kosher salt with my fingertips than I can regular salt. Since I have the stuff around for other uses, there is no reason to have Morton’s in the house at all. So kosher salt becomes the default, even in recipes when regular salt would do just as well.
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### Author:  [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/6 "2010-08-23T02:17:57Z")
I didn’t believe it made a difference just for sprinkling on food until I did a taste test. Having big crystals distributed farther apart and maybe less evenly _ **does** _ taste different than tiny crystals spread more closely and uniformly. In general I prefer the kosher salt, but for a few things, like popcorn, table salt seems better.
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### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/7 "2010-08-23T03:26:15Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#):
>
> We’re talking about plain old NaCl here right? In bigger flakes?
That’s the point. The non-kosher salt I find has anti-caking agents - it’s not plain NaCl.
And the bigger pieces matter; you get more salt bang for your sodium buck when it hits your taste buds.
I don’t know that there is any gustatorial reason to use it in something like a soup, that it dissolves in though.
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### Author:  [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/8 "2010-08-23T07:31:11Z")
So if Kosher salt takes over, will we all start getting goiters again?
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### Author:  [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/9 "2010-08-23T10:21:54Z")
Kosher salt is easier to handle with your fingers which is how most chefs season their food. For me, personally, I have in-built muscle memory around a particular brand of kosher salt. I can taste a dish, throw in a pinch of salt and have it come out perfectly seasoned.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/10 "2010-08-23T11:05:23Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> I can get a much more precise amount of kosher salt with my fingertips than I can regular salt.
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Kosher salt is easier to handle with your fingers which is how most chefs season their food.
This is what I’ve heard. Real chefs use it for the physical shape not because of the taste or anything.
Because it’s a larger, coarse shape, there’s a lower packing efficiency. When you grab a pinch of it, there’s less salt in the pinch because it doesn’t pack together as well as nice round grains. As such, you’re less likely to over-season the food.
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### Author:  [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/11 "2010-08-23T11:06:30Z")
It’s not just a fad, it’s a Zionist conspiracy.
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### Author:  [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/12 "2010-08-23T12:49:08Z")
Duplicate sorry.
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### Author:  [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/13 "2010-08-23T12:50:18Z")
Not all kosher salt is the same. I just read that diamond brand kosher salt doesn’t pack as densely as morton brand kosher salt.
So testing is in order to determine which suits your recipes.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/14 "2010-08-23T12:57:08Z")
All salt is kosher.
“Kosher salt” (salt without iodide or other additives) is used in the koshering of certain meats.
/nitpick
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/15 "2010-08-24T14:42:52Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#):
>
> I didn’t believe it made a difference just for sprinkling on food until I did a taste test. Having big crystals distributed farther apart and maybe less evenly _ **does** _ taste different than tiny crystals spread more closely and uniformly. In general I prefer the kosher salt, but for a few things, like popcorn, table salt seems better.
Next time you’re in the supermarket, pick up some [“popcorn salt”](http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/foodsalts/Popcorn_salt.htm). It comes in tiny bottles, so it won’t set you back much. Popcorn salt has little tiny grains that stick in the nooks and crannies of popcorn better than table salt, so you can use less of it and get better flavor (and less wasted salt at the bottom of the bowl).
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/16 "2010-08-24T14:49:47Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Kosher salt is easier to handle with your fingers which is how most chefs season their food.
This is the precise reason. Salt is salt – almost pure sodium chloride. Chefs like the way they can sprinkle the larger grains with their fingers, but once the salt touches water, no one on Earth can taste the difference.
The bigger grains give a nice texture to things like pretzels, but the flavor is the same – just a bit more of it at once.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/17 "2010-08-24T17:53:48Z")
> [@friedo](#):
>
> All salt is kosher.
>
> “Kosher salt” (salt without iodide or other additives) is used in the koshering of certain meats.
> /nitpick
My brother’s ex-wife told me that kosher salt was kosher because it was killed humanely.
/old joke
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### Author:  [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/18 "2010-08-24T18:03:26Z")
What happens if you put kosher salt on pork? 😕
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### Author:  [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/19 "2010-08-24T18:17:38Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#):
>
> > [@Parenchyma](#):
> >
> > I didn’t believe it made a difference just for sprinkling on food until I did a taste test. Having big crystals distributed farther apart and maybe less evenly _ **does** _ taste different than tiny crystals spread more closely and uniformly. In general I prefer the kosher salt, but for a few things, like popcorn, table salt seems better.
>
> Next time you’re in the supermarket, pick up some [“popcorn salt”](http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/foodsalts/Popcorn_salt.htm). It comes in tiny bottles, so it won’t set you back much. Popcorn salt has little tiny grains that stick in the nooks and crannies of popcorn better than table salt, so you can use less of it and get better flavor (and less wasted salt at the bottom of the bowl).
I’ve done many popcorn-dressing experiments over the years. Is that popcorn salt different than when I make superfine salt in my little ceramic mortar and pestle? You can get it almost flour-fine. I’ve mixed that salt with smoked paprika or toasted Sichuan peppercorn and sprinkled it on after dressing the popcorn with, for example, melted butter with chili and garlic. Maybe adding some grated smoked cheddar if I want to really gild the lilly. Nice spicy eatin’.
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### Author:  [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-fad/551071/20 "2010-08-24T18:53:04Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#):
>
> I’ve done many popcorn-dressing experiments over the years. Is that popcorn salt different than when I make superfine salt in my little ceramic mortar and pestle? You can get it almost flour-fine. I’ve mixed that salt with smoked paprika or toasted Sichuan peppercorn and sprinkled it on after dressing the popcorn with, for example, melted butter with chili and garlic. Maybe adding some grated smoked cheddar if I want to really gild the lilly. Nice spicy eatin’.
I stand in awe of your popcorn dedication. I’m pretty happy with myself if I manage I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray and some hot sauce.
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