# What's the deal with non-iodized salt?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-non-iodized-salt/577207>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 4, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-non-iodized-salt/577207 "2011-04-04T23:02:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![core](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@core](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/core)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-non-iodized-salt/577207/81 "2016-03-27T00:38:51Z")

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> [@Common\_Tater](#):
>
> My tastes in food are by no means sophisticated but I like to use good ingredients. Sea salt has a noticeably different flavor than regular table salt iodized or not, even in baked goods.

That’s the fish poop and remains of rotted sea creatures you are tasting. Yum. Perhaps your tastes in food are more sophisticated than you think?

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**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-non-iodized-salt/577207/82 "2016-03-27T01:42:04Z")

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> [@Common\_Tater](#):
>
> I think you misspelled “uselessly pedantic”, when I bake things or make scrambled eggs the salt is indeed dissolved, there isn’t anything left. I’m not a big biscuit fan, but make a LOT of bread and pizza, the dough prep thoroughly mixes and dissolves up the salt. In fact the only kind I buy is extra coarse, but there is nothing left after several minutes through a Kitchen-Aid.

You really should try a blind taste test someday.

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**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-non-iodized-salt/577207/83 "2016-03-27T21:58:16Z")

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> [@BrotherCadfael](#):
>
> OK, so we iodize salt to ensure that people get enough iodine. Clear enough.
> 
> But, why did we pick salt as the delivery mechanism? Why not some other food product?

Because salt was the traditional delivery mechanism. It is only when you strip all the minirals out, to make it really white, that the iodine falls to low levels. (our culture really likes really white salt, and flour, and cruise ships),

In the 20th centtury, wheat and milk also became trace sources of iodine, so there were a lot of people who got some iodine by other means.

Iodine was used on cow teats after milking, and on wheat before planting.

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