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Table Salt,Kosher Salt & Sea Salt

Discussion in 'Indian Diet & Nutrition' started by Jithiks, May 4, 2008.

  1. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi IL'ites,


    All of us use salt in our daily cooking. As the saying goes in Tamil
    "Uppillaa Pandam Kuppaiyile" meaning "Food without Salt goes into Trash" ! :exactly:


    In fact , even when we make some sweets, I remember, my mom used to add a pinch of salt ..and she would say that will enhance the sweetness.


    Also when we make fresh juices too..i add a pinch of salt..even though sugar will be added for sweetness.


    There are so many different types of salt in the market today.

    Yesterday, for the very first time, I used Kosher Salt for cooking. Usually, I use table salt for all my cooking here in USA. But, i wanted to try this Kosher salt for a long time :)


    Before, in chennai (following my mom) I was using "Kal Uppu" for making sambar, rasam, gravies but table salt for making curries, chutneys etc.


    Here, I find there is table salt (with and without Iodine), Sea Salt, Rock salt and Kosher Salt.


    I was under the assumption that Kosher salt was the "Kal Uppu" that we used in Chennai. But I remember "kal uppu " had more saltiness than "Table salt"..that is "podi uppu". But the grains of Kosher Salt are a little smaller than the Kal Uppu that I've seen @ Chennai.


    Then after cooking & tasting, i realised that I had to use a little bit more of Kosher salt than the Table salt wherever required.


    It was also mentioned on the box that Kosher salt is used for Gourmet cooking..and if needed , we need to add a little bit more.


    Has anyone used different types of salt for your cooking?


    I also noted that Kosher salt does not have Iodine..so my question is , do we have to balance both these salts ...meaning table salt with iodine and Kosher salt..so that we do get the necessary intake of Iodine in our diet?


    By the way, what is Sea Salt ? Is it used in our Indian cooking?

    Meanwhile, i will try to look up some info online.


    IL'ites, hope all of you can share more info on this and let us know what type of salt you all use in your kitchen?


    Cheers
    Krithika
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2008
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  2. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi,

    Here is some information that I found online..

    <TABLE width=620 border=0><TD width="100%"><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TD vAlign=top width="50%">


    <TD vAlign=top width="50%"><HR noShade SIZE=1>
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]What Is Salt?[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Salt is a mineral. Chemically, it is known as sodium chloride (NaCl), the combination of one sodium ion and one chloride ion. Salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride by weight.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Salt enhances the flavor of food, preserves food, helps to regulate and control normal body functions, and acts as a building block for more complex chemicals.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Interestingly, salt is the only rock eaten by humans. [/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Where Does Salt Come From?[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Salt is primarily found underground in rock form or dissolved in the world's oceans and some lakes. Salt is also found on the surface of ancient evaporated seabeds like the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and in Death Valley National Park in California.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]How Is Salt Produced?[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Salt is produced using three methods: Rock salt mining, solar evaporation, and vacuum evaporation.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]In rock salt mining, salt is mined from large underground deposits called beds or domes. It is crushed into manageable chunks and hauled to the surface, where it is screened, bagged, and shipped for further processing into commercial products and food-grade salt.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Solar evaporation is the oldest method of salt production known to man. Seawater is captured in shallow ponds and allowed to evaporate by sun and wind. According to the Salt Institute, seawater contains on average 2.7% salt by weight.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]If you've ever flown into San Francisco or Oakland and looked out the airplane window to see a series of colorful ponds along the edge of San Francisco Bay, those are salt evaporation ponds belonging to Cargill Salt, the world's largest marketer of salt. These ponds have been producing salt for more than a century. Their colors range from pale green to deep pink, caused by micro-algae that change their hue in response to increasing salinity.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Much of the raw salt is processed for use in agriculture, industry, and water conditioning. Cargill re-washes the raw salt to remove dust that may have collected while in the outdoor storage stack. It is then dried and sterilized in a gas-fired dryer to a temperature of 250°F. The resulting salt is 99.8% pure. It is shaken through a series of screens to sort the salt by size and packaged according to coarseness.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]For home use and commercial food producers, Cargill takes raw salt from the outdoor storage stack and refines it using a vacuum evaporation process (described below). The result is salt that is 99.99% pure sodium chloride.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Vacuum evaporation is the process of dissolving rock salt or solar salt in water to create a brine solution, then boiling off the water to leave behind pure salt.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Cargill dissolves raw solar salt in pure drinking water, removing dust and some trace minerals that cling to the salt crystals. The resulting brine is pumped into a vacuum evaporator—essentially a large vessel from which the air is removed—and it is boiled. Since water boils at a lower temperature in a vacuum, less energy is needed to evaporate the water than if an open-air vessel was used. Once most of the water has boiled away, the remaining salt slurry is dried, filtered, and air-cooled. A series of vibrating screen sort the salt crystals by size for packaging.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Solution mining is the process of injecting water into underground salt layers and pumping out the resulting brine solution and processing it via vacuum evaporation. Solution mining is more commonly used by chemical companies in the production of chlorine, an important industrial chemical.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Types Of Edible Salt[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Table salt is a fine-grained salt produce from either rock salt or sea salt like that produced in Cargill's evaporation ponds. Iodized table salt contains a small amount of potassium iodide and dextrose (a sugar used to stabilize the iodide) as a dietary supplement to prevent goiter and mental retardation. Plain table salt does not contain potassium iodide and dextrose. All table salt contains an anti-caking agent like calcium silicate to keep it from clumping in humid conditions so it flows freely from the box.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Kosher salt is a coarse, flaky salt. It is not iodized, and depending on the brand it may or may not contain an anti-caking agent like Yellow Prussiate of Soda (sodium ferrocyanide).[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Kosher salt is produced using two methods. The industry standard method used by Morton Salt is to flatten salt crystals into flakes using rollers. Cargill, maker of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, uses a method called the Alberger process. A brine solution is heated in a 80' x 40' open vat. Large rakes agitate the steaming brine, and as it evaporates, crystals form into tiny pyramids with jagged edges. Cargill claims their kosher salt dissolves faster and clings to food better than rolled kosher salt. [/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Kosher salt gets its name from its use in making meat kosher in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. Many chefs prefer to use kosher salt in their kitchens because it is easily picked up with the fingers and sprinkled over food with good control.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Some people believe that kosher salt is saltier than table salt, but this isn't true. According to Cook's Illustrated magazine, flaky kosher salt crystals dissolve more quickly on the tongue than table salt, resulting in the perception of greater saltiness. In reality, kosher salt weighs less by volume than table salt, so you must increase the amount of kosher salt in a recipe or a brine when substituting for table salt. See Salt Equivalent Measures later in this article for details.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Canning and pickling salt is a fine-grained salt usually sold in 3- or 4-pound boxes. It does not contain the potassium iodide or anti-caking agent calcium silicate found in table salt. Calcium silicate is not water soluble, causing cloudy brines and eventually settling in the bottom of the can or jar. It is also said to cause pickles to turn dark in color. So for aesthetic reasons, calcium silicate is not used in canning and pickling salt.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Some brands of canning and pickling salt use an alternative anti-caking agent, Yellow Prussiate of Soda (sodium ferrocyanide). It is water soluble and doesn't cause the aesthetic problems of calcium silicate. Brands that contain no anti-caking agent may clump in humid conditions and therefore not flow freely from the box.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Gourmet sea salts vary based on how they are harvested and the extent to which they are refined. Some coarse or fine sea salts are about the same in composition as regular table salt, containing 99% sodium chloride and 1-2% magnesium and calcium chlorides and other trace minerals. Varieties like sel gris ("gray salt") are a moist salt that is not refined, so it contains clay and other trace elements from the evaporation ponds. The most premium of all sea salts, fleur de sel ("the flower of salt"), consists of delicate crystals skimmed from the surface of the evaporation pond by hand. Gourmet sea salts sell for $20-$50 per pound or more.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Exotic sea salts like Hawaiian red salt and Indian black salt contain clay, which gives them their unique color and flavor.[/FONT]
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2008
  3. sssaustin

    sssaustin Senior IL'ite

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    Without much info..like I was lazy to catch upon the details...I used sea salt..and of course needed to use more than usual...

    I was backing up..c ing the absence if iodine...Witsend

    Thanks for the info...I'm also leaning more towards Kal Uppu...

    So let us all know ...what your reserach had taught u...
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2008
  4. lahy15

    lahy15 Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Krithika,

    Again you have come up with a Needed topic ... Yes, I do use 'Kal Uppu' for cooking and use table salt only for mixing curd ... Otherwise, we mostly use 'Kal Uppu' which is really good for health and I learnt it from my Mom ... Thanks for this Topic and let us wait from others what they use too ... Regards, Suni ... :)
     
  5. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi ssaustin & Sunitha,

    Thanks for your replies.

    I see both of you prefer using Kal Uppu.

    So what is kal uppu in English? When you are living abroad what is the name of this "Kal uppu" and what brand do you buy?

    Is "Kal Uppu" Kosher salt or Coarse Sea salt ? That is my question and am totally confused :confused: ! when I see the salt crystals of Kosher salt, they are slightly smaller than the Kal Uppu that I've seen in Chennai !

    Also it is clear that regular table salt comes in 2 types..one is iodized and the other is non iodized.

    I use this iodized table salt for my cooking...for the past 2 days..mixing Kosher salt too. To be specific , i use Diamond Crystal sterling Iodized salt/morton iodized salt & Morton Kosher Salt.

    So, IL'ites, what do you use mainly in your kitchen and why?

    Is there any specific reasons like taste or health?

    Cheers
    Krithika
     
  6. Sriniketan

    Sriniketan IL Hall of Fame

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    Nice topic, Krithika...

    Do we get Kal Uppu here?? I don't know...I am using Morton iodised salt..
    The reason for using this salt, my mil-- she was using it when I came over to US and I continued the same....

    I would be happy to know if Kal uppu is available here so that I can use that too..

    sriniketan
     
  7. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Sriniketan,

    Thanks for your reply.

    I thought Kosher salt was Kal uppu...now I am doubtful.

    Me too...I use only Morton iodised salt for all cooking until day before..when I started using both Kosher & table salt.

    Hope other IL'ites can shed more light on this !

    Cheers
    Krithika
     
  8. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi IL'ites,

    A little more info on these salts from online...


    The chart below shows equivalent amounts of table salt and the two most popular brands of kosher salt.
    <TABLE id=table1 width=400 border=0><TD bgColor=#eeeecc>Table Salt<TD bgColor=#eeeecc>1 cupMorton Kosher Salt1-1/2 cups<TD bgColor=#eeeecc>Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt<TD bgColor=#eeeecc>2 cups


    Morton Kosher Salt weighs about 7.7 ounces per cup, making it three-fourths as strong as table salt.

    Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt weighs about 5 ounces per cup, making it half as strong as table salt.

    What if you're using something other than Morton Kosher or Diamond Crystal Kosher salt? Regardless of the type of salt—sea salt, canning and pickling salt, or any other brand of kosher salt—just measure 10 ounces of it on a kitchen scale, and you will have the equivalent of 1 cup of table salt.

    But still, i am not sure which is the "Kal Uppu " that we used in Chennai !?

    Cheers
    Krithika
     
  9. sundarusha

    sundarusha Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Krithika
    I had been using Morton iodized salt . Lately I have switched to sea salt. I came to know through my friend who also is a practicing homeopath that sea salt is more content in iodine and also is is saltier than morton salt. So I remember to use a little less whenever I use sea salt.
     
  10. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Sundarusha,

    I believe the sea salt comes in different types like coarse, fine and extra fine..right?

    So what is suitable for our Indian cooking? Is sea salt same as Kal uppu?

    So, what brand of sea salt do you use? Can you elaborate on this please?

    Cheers
    Krithika
     

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