For many cooks, salt is an essential ingredient, but do you know the different types – kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, etc. – and when to use them? Here are six types of salt every cook should have in his or her kitchen.
Kosher Salt
It's texture is coarse like small rocks. Cooks prize crystals like these; their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount. You can use it for all types of cooking. Kosher salt dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Kosher salt actually got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat―a step in the koshering process.
Crystalline Sea Salt
It's texture can be fine or coarse. The size of the irregular crystals affects how fast the salt dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it has in it. You can use it for: Adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals will complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet.
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Flaked Sea Salt
This kind of seas salt is soft, sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains. You can use it for: Bringing a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. Take a pinch, crush the crystals between your fingertips, and let them fall on freshly cooked food. This salt will add a hint of briny flavor.
Fleur de Sel
Fleur de Sel melts slowly in the mouth. It has an earthy, pleasing flavor lingers on the tongue. You can use this for special-occasions. Spoon it into a salt cellar to be pinched, then sprinkled over food just before eating. Delicately flavored, it adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon.
Rock Salt
This kind of salt is large, chunky, nonuniform crystals. Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color. Be sure to use it for: Making ice cream and deicing. Rock salt is paired with ice in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate the temperature. You can also use it to deice your sidewalks and driveway in the winter months.
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Pickling Salt
This variety is fine grained, like table salt. You can use it for brining pickles and sauerkraut. It will also brine a turkey, but beware: Pickling salt is far more concentrated than the more commonly used kosher salt, so you'll need to use less.
