# Kosher salt, not Jewish, why should I?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 21, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263 "2017-08-21T07:03:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/1 "2017-08-21T07:03:40Z")
So it seems all the Kool Kids are promoting Kosher salt nowadays, from daytime TV cooking shows through to the uber-cool websites: it has to be KOSHER salt or nothing.
But why? Does kosher salt have different/better qualities/taste compared to ordinary sea-salt? As a goy, is there any practical reason for me to buy kosher salt?
(FTR, I do understand why kosher salt is kosher, I just don’t get why it is promoted so heavily via all the cooking websites that are not otherwise kosher).
(where’s the little jewish smiley-fella when you need him?) 🙂
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/2 "2017-08-21T07:07:59Z")
Kosher salt is relatively coarse, table salt is very finely ground and thus packs more densely. If you use a tsp of table salt when the recipe called for a tsp of kosher salt, your dish will be to salty.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/3 "2017-08-21T08:32:19Z")
kosher salt is much easier to grab a “pinch” of and sprinkle onto whatever it is you’re cooking.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/4 "2017-08-21T08:35:35Z")
Besides possibly being larger, the grain of kosher salt is specifically designed to adhere onto the surface of foods. The “big” difference however is that sea salt usually contains minerals and other trace nutrients that can impart their own flavors.
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### Author:  [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/5 "2017-08-21T09:05:58Z")
Kosher salt is mainly designed to soak up blood. However salt is the same as any other salt, essentially and nutritionally.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/6 "2017-08-21T11:40:27Z")
Kosher salt is designed for “Koshering”; salt is just a rock. It’s not necessary to declare it Kosher.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/7 "2017-08-21T11:49:22Z")
The flakes are tabular (flat) not cubic, so better for surface coating.
Any other times people are insistent over using it are just them subscribing to some hipster fad. Shows what they know - pink Himalayan salt and black Hawaiian salt is the real hipster salts.
Just kidding. _Fleur de se_l or GTFO, _poseurs_.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/8 "2017-08-21T12:25:40Z")
More than you would ever want to know on salt. [The Science Of Salt](http://amazingribs.com/recipes/my_ingredients/zen_of_salt.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Measuring different salts
>
> You need to be aware of which type of salt you are using when you follow a recipe that measures by volume because the grain size can make huge difference on the amount of sodium, i.e. saltiness or salinity. For example, one teaspoon of table salt, which is made of small cubic shaped grains, contains less air than one teaspoon kosher salt, which is a larger flake and has more air between the grains. So if the recipe calls for a teaspoon (a volumetric measurement) of Morton’s Kosher Salt and you use a teaspoon of table salt, the food will be almost twice as salty. And believe it or not, Morton’s Kosher Salt has a higher salinity than Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, almost twice as much! …
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/9 "2017-08-21T12:44:55Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> kosher salt is much easier to grab a “pinch” of and sprinkle onto whatever it is you’re cooking.
This.
I keep normal salt in a shaker, and kosher salt in a little salt dish. I use the kosher 95% of the time while cooking, because it’s a hell of a lot easier to pinch up some kosher and sprinkle it in a dish, or grab a measuring spoon and measure out a bit of it.
Nothing at all to do with taste or texture. Everything to do with it’s easy to pick up.
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### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/10 "2017-08-21T12:51:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> The flakes are tabular (flat) not cubic, so better for surface coating.
>
> Any other times people are insistent over using it are just them subscribing to some hipster fad. Shows what they know - pink Himalayan salt and **black Hawaiian salt** is the real hipster salts.
>
> Just kidding. _Fleur de se_l or GTFO, _poseurs_.
I don’t know if “Hawaiian” is the same stuff, but my vegan friend picked up some black salt the other day so she could make her tofu taste like scrambled eggs, and it worked amazingly well (yum!) So _that_ one at least, I’ll defend from the “hipster” label - the trace sulphur really does its stuff.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/11 "2017-08-21T12:54:02Z")
Sea salt have such a small percentage of trace elements, that they don’t make any difference in the flavor.
The only difference is the kosher salt has bigger grains and is easier to sprinkle. Once salt hits moisture, there’s no difference in taste except that which is explained by the amount of salt added.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/12 "2017-08-21T13:44:56Z")
Table salt has additives. (Emphasis added.)
> [@](#):
>
> What’s in Morton Iodized Salt? There are four ingredients: salt, calcium silicate, sugar, and potassium iodide. Morton uses the sciencey name dextrose for sugar, but dextrose is sugar. The amount of sugar in your salt is too small to trigger sugar cravings, but isn’t it troubling to find sugar showing up in your salt!
>
> Let’s review the ingredients to understand what they are and why they are present.
>
> …
>
> The second ingredient is calcium silicate (an anticaking agent). Wikipedia explains, “A white free-flowing powder derived from limestone and diatomaceous earth, calcium silicate has no known adverse effects to health. It is used in roads, insulation, bricks, roof tiles, table salt and occurs in cements, where it is known as belite (or in cement chemist notation C2S).” I get it. Calcium silicate is rock dust and it helps keep salt from forming clumps and helps it flow out of a carton or shaker easily. I’m actually okay with eating a little dirt.
>
> Postassium iodide is the fourth ingredient. According to the Salt Institute, “Modern salt plants routinely spray potassium iodide or potassium iodate onto the salt while it moves along a conveyor belt before it is packaged. In lower-tech operations, iodine is sometimes added as a dry ingredient and physically mixed with the salt ([Saltinstitute.org](http://www.saltinstitute.org/Production-industry/Production-technologies/Iodizing-salt)).” Morton explains why, “In 1924 Morton became the first company to produce iodized salt for the table in order to reduce the incidence of simple goiter… Iodine is vital to the proper functioning of the thyroid gland and the prevention of goiter ([http://www.mortonsalt.com/faqs/food-salt-faqs](http://www.mortonsalt.com/faqs/food-salt-faqs)). Iodine is spotty in the food chain. You might get all you need from seafood, sea vegetables, eggs, strawberries, etc., but you might not, especially if you don’t eat these foods very often. Putting iodine into salt is a safety factor.
>
> Dextrose, the third ingredient, is added to keep the potassium iodide from oxidizing and being lost. Dextrose, of course, is sugar. Check the salt in your cabinet at home. If it’s iodized, it almost certainly contains sugar. Morton explains that while it is chemically essential, “the amount of dextrose in salt is so small that it is dietetically insignificant… Morton® Iodized Table Salt contains 0.04 percent dextrose or 40 milligrams per 100 grams of salt.”…
>
> [Cite](http://www.wholelifeeating.com/2012/05/morton-iodized-salt-whats-in-it/)
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/13 "2017-08-21T13:58:00Z")
Kosher salt also has additives (the horror! :eek: ) usually anti-caking agents. They are not typically iodized, though .
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/14 "2017-08-21T14:17:58Z")
I use koshering salt the way God intended: coating a slab of beef before grilling it over an open fire.
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### Author:  [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/15 "2017-08-21T14:39:19Z")
I love salt, and like to point out to anti-salt fanatics they are prolly getting cretinous from the lack of iodides — they are as miserable as anti-smoking fanatics — but I don’t think I have ever seen Kosher Salt over here, and I look out for Israeli Halva, so see the specialty foods every now and then. It seems to be an American fad — even rare in Israel.
Additives are fine in most instances. Not so much in those hideously bright coloured sweets probably.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/16 "2017-08-21T14:58:27Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#):
>
> I don’t know if “Hawaiian” is the same stuff, but my vegan friend picked up some black salt the other day so she could make her tofu taste like scrambled eggs, and it worked amazingly well (yum!) So _that_ one at least, I’ll defend from the “hipster” label - the trace sulphur really does its stuff.
Naah, that sounds like _[Kala namak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kala_namak)_. Hawaiian black salt/“lava salt” is [salt with added charcoal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt#/media/File:Black_Salt.jpg). It’s used for decoration, I wouldn’t cook with the stuff.
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### Author:  [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/17 "2017-08-21T15:54:24Z")
I have a bottle/grinder of Himalayan Pink Salt. Bottle states “it’s the purest salt…” If that’s the case, why is it pink?
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/18 "2017-08-21T16:04:08Z")
> [@GaryM](#):
>
> I have a bottle/grinder of Himalayan Pink Salt. Bottle states “it’s the purest salt…” If that’s the case, why is it pink?
it has the purest impurities?
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### Author:  [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/19 "2017-08-21T20:42:42Z")
Maybe that’s it! But really, pure sodium chloride should be pure white shouldn’t it?
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-salt-not-jewish-why-should-i/794263/20 "2017-08-21T20:47:13Z")
> [@GaryM](#):
>
> Maybe that’s it! But really, pure sodium chloride should be pure white shouldn’t it?
crystals of NaCl are actually clear at first, then abrasion and moisture absorption make them cloudy over time.
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