# What happened to iodized salt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975 "2020-05-17T13:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/61 "2020-05-18T14:32:14Z")
Kosher salt is valued by good cooks mainly because the flaky texture helps the granules adhere to the meat, fish, or broccoli. Ever notice how much ordinary table salt just rolls off? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/62 "2020-05-18T20:03:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Oops! That’s backwards. > > Morton Kosher Salt: 1.2g weight per 2/4 tsp > Kroger Iodized Salt: 1.5g weight per 1/4 tsp > > Sorry! > > Oddly, the Kosher salt contains Yellow Prussiate of Soda (anti-caking agent) I hope that 2/4 tsp is meant to be 1/4 tsp. I hardly ever use the salt shaker (to help with blood pressure). Am in danger of goiter? Whenever I make a recipe, it always calls for kosher salt. For things like sweet breads, I omit it. For other things I typically use half what the resipe calls for. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/63 "2020-05-18T20:15:12Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Even if you’re relatively close to the sea, if you don’t live near sea level but at high altitudes (e.g. Piedmont in Italy), you are at risk of iodine deficiency and goitre. > > I once saw an old painting of an Alpine family where not only did everyone have a goitre, but the dog had one too. Wish I could find it online. > > Instead, here’s a [17th century carving from Piedmont](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/12/18/nh-6_custom-0d5d0e5a412de0591d6a73d563b174f065fe0829-s1600-c85.jpg) that would upset Elaine Benes. It’s from a relatively recent NPR piece entitled ‘[Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/24/788915889/why-certain-poor-shepherds-in-nativity-scenes-have-huge-misshapen-throats)’. Fascinating article! Maybe the equivalent today would be “redneck teeth”, both real and fake? The goiter & thyroid deficiency aspects reminded me of this Dorothy Sayers / Lord Peter Wimsey short story, “The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey”: > **[A Treasury of Sayers Stories](https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20111202)** > > LORD PETER WIMSEY STORIES > > The Image in the Mirror > The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey > The Queen's Square > The Necklace of Pearls > > MONTAGUE EGG STORIES > > The Poisoned Dow '08 > Sleuths on the Scent > Murder in the Morning > One Too... ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/64 "2020-05-18T20:25:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Oops! That’s backwards. > > Morton Kosher Salt: 1.2g weight per 2/4 tsp > Kroger Iodized Salt: 1.5g weight per 1/4 tsp > > Sorry! > > Oddly, the Kosher salt contains Yellow Prussiate of Soda (anti-caking agent) Crap! 2nd correction: Morton Kosher Salt: 1.2g weight per 1/4 tsp Kroger Iodized Salt: 1.5g weight per 1/4 tsp Thanks, **Hari Seldon**! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/65 "2020-05-18T20:48:32Z")
and even with kosher salt you have to watch your volumes, Diamond Crystal is a lot finer than Morton. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/66 "2020-05-19T16:15:55Z")
Texture is another reason to use kosher salt. There are times when you want crunchy crystals, for instance, on salt bagels or pretzels. The crystals in table salt are too small for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/67 "2020-05-19T20:22:25Z")
I just looked at my salt grinder, one of those prefilled ones from Costco. The salt contained was formed in the Jurassic period, more than 250 million years ago, according to the label. It’s also best used by February 16, 2025. Just my fucking luck, 250 million years in the making and I buy it with less than 0.000002% of its life left. I am depressed. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/68 "2020-05-20T04:43:39Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I just looked at my salt grinder, one of those prefilled ones from Costco. The salt contained was formed in the Jurassic period, more than 250 million years ago, according to the label. It’s also best used by February 16, 2025. > > Just my fucking luck, 250 million years in the making and I buy it with less than 0.000002% of its life left. I am depressed. But you’ve brought me and my family much joy as I read your post aloud, which I hope leavens your bitter and perhaps non-iodized tears. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/69 "2020-05-21T15:08:19Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I call BS on this. > Salt is essentially 100% NaCl. It’s all the same amount of “salty.” > But, Iodized salt is slightly bitter tasting. Not enough for most people, but snobby chefs can taste the difference. So, they specify un-iodized. Kosher salt is also coarser, so that has an effect for some recipes. You can call BS all you want, but I find it to be true in my kitchen - Diamond is less salty than Morton, whether in kosher or table salt. Pink himalayan is different, as is sea salt. It’s enough of a difference that I keep several different varieties of salt, and adjust amounts accordingly when cooking, depending on what I’m using. My wife and daughter both can taste the difference in tasting various salts. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/70 "2020-05-21T16:02:54Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > Sea salt generally isn’t iodized. Er… [nitpick] Sea salt doesn’t normally have iodine _added_ but it often does contain it. It’s just that with sea salt it’s sort of a crap shoot how much is in a handful of it. You could wind up with a batch with very low iodine and another batch with very high iodine. Iodized sea salt will have at least a minimum amount of the element. [/nitpick] Likewise, the oh-so-trendy pink Himalayan salt also has iodine in it, along with something like 80+ other trace elements (seriously, about 90% of the periodic table - it’s pink because of all the non-salt stuff in it), just not as much as iodized salt. Whether or not the pink salt supplies enough depends on the person and what other iodine sources may be in their diet. I suspect that part of the problem recently is covid-19 supply line craziness. It could be the regular salt sold out, leaving the more expensive and fancy varieties. It could be that there was an interruption is salt supplies getting to the store. Maybe something else I haven’t thought of. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/71 "2020-05-21T16:14:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Likewise, the oh-so-trendy pink Himalayan salt also has iodine in it, along with something like 80+ other trace elements (seriously, about 90% of the periodic table - it’s pink because of all the non-salt stuff in it)… Gotta get your daily intake of Thorium and Plutonium somehow! ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975/72 "2020-05-21T16:50:37Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I call BS on this. > Salt is essentially 100% NaCl. It’s all the same amount of “salty.” It’s not the same with the customary US practice of measuring dry ingredients by volume. A cup of kosher salt indeed contains less salt than a cup of finely grained salt so directly substituting one for the other will make a noticeable difference. The larger crystal size of kosher salt also dissolves slower, so if it’s applied directly to food it will persist in solid form longer and yield a different texture with more intensely salty particles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-iodized-salt/853975.md?page=3)