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Can I Substitute Sea Salt For Kosher Salt
Sea salt can be used to replace kosher salt but not always. Sea salt has become more popular lately as a replacement for kosher salt, mainly because of its price and due to the fact that sea salt is cheaper than kosher salt. The makeup, size, and density of sea salt are similar to that of kosher salt.
It might seem simple to just use the same salt that you take out for shaking on your cooked dishes, but table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt all serve different purposes in cooking. When using sea salt as a substitute, you will have to adjust your measurements to meet the recipes requirements, as well as differences in the size of the salt grains. Remember, you will have to adjust the volume of salt that you are replacing according to the size of the grains.
As with any salt substitute, make sure you consider the ratio of coarse to fine salt before adding it to the dishes. If you are replacing table salt with ordinary sea salt (not coarse or flaked), you may want to replace one for the other at an equal ratio. The grains of ordinary sea salt are a similar size as the grains of kosher salt, and for that reason, you can add them in the same quantity in the recipe.
In some cases, other types of salts might not offer enough replacement, and thus, sea salt may be used instead. Different types of sea salt retain varying uses throughout the culinary world, and may make the difference that you are looking for in your dish. There are a variety of types of salts out there, most varying in size, grain, and texture, but sharing similar levels of saltiness.
The differences among types of salt are in texture, taste, origin, level of refinement, and method used in this process. The difference between kosher and table salt is texture, grain size, process, additives used, and therefore taste. The coarse texture of kosher salt makes it an excellent additive for some recipes, however, because of the flakes, it is not appropriate for all types of cuisine. It is not certified as Kosher; the name refers to the way that salt crystals pull out the moisture during the koshering process for meat.
| Kosher Salt | Sea Salt |
| It is made solely of sodium chloride | Drying salt water into crystals produces sea salt |
| It is a coarse, flat grained salt | It has a strong flavor and less salty taste |
| It has a pure clean flavor | It is softer than kosher salt |
If you are using kosher salt as an accent to the presentation of a dish, pickled salt might not be your best bet, since it dissolves rapidly and does not provide that flakes, crystalline appearance. If your recipe does not require that you add salt in order to get that crisp texture, pickling salt will work just fine as an alternative. Occasionally, I will call for coarse Kosher salt if it is important for salt to be sprayed on things with a hand, or if it is going to alter somethings texture to form a crust (such as on top of meat), or if making an herb or garlic paste is involved.
When using ordinary table salt as a kosher salt substitute, be sure to account for granule size. Kosher salt has a more coarse texture, meaning a recipe calling for one tablespoon of kosher salt will require just a half-ton of ordinary table salt. This makes sense to me, as kosher salts coarse, bouncy grains cannot pack into the spoon as tightly as one tablespoon of iodized table salt. Thayer says that coarse sea salt and kosher salt generally have larger crystals, so if your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt or kosher salt, these larger crystals will occupy more space. Pay attention to the quantity a new recipe calls for: A 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt is going to make more of an impact in your dishes than the same quantity of larger-grained salts, such as Diamond Crystal.
If you would rather fine sea salt be the salt of choice in cooking, then by all means, go for it – just keep in mind that you will need to make adjustments when recipes call for kosher Diamond Crystal. If the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of table salt (which has 2,360 mg. sodium), then you would need 2 1/4 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher coarse salt to achieve those mg. of sodium, and to achieve the proper balance of sodium in your recipes. If you are baking something that calls for less salt (a teaspoon or two), then using cheap table salt is okay–it will dissolve rapidly into your batter or dough, and you will not taste metals in your final product.
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Table salt is also ideal to use in the baking process, as well as to flavor soups and stews, or to season pasta, since it dissolves rapidly in liquids. Typically used in blocks or slabs for use on a baking tray, flaked salt can be processed into coarse or fine grains, and used to flavor or finish food. Salt may be harvested from salt rocks or salt mines, or produced by the evaporation of salt lakes and seawater, or brine. The texture of coarse sea salt makes it an ideal replacement as it provides a similar crunch, making it an effective finishing salt.
Sea salt is best used as a finishing salt due to its cost, and the way that it melts nicely in your mouth and adds interest; such AS a sprinkle over homemade caramel, or an enhancer for a warm steak from the grill. Finely ground may work for recipes that call for salt, but coarser is best used as finishing touches to dishes. The size of the grains may vary from brand to brand, the crystals in table salt are usually small and easy to dissolve.
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Table salt is made up of a few added minerals, including iodine, which may cause your food to taste bitter if too much is used. Table salt may have been enriched with iodine, and may also contain things like calcium silicates in order to prevent powders from caking or congealing. Sea salt may be colored, seen in different shades, and may also have certain micronutrients (magnesium, calcium, potassium) which can affect color and flavor. With the granule size being somewhere between table salt and kosher salt, Himalayan Pink Salt provides that added crunch that you will not get from table salt, but not the extended crunch and saline taste that you will get from using kosher salt.
Kosher salt is free from additives, but can contain anti-caking agents. Kosher salt is used in the Jewish religious practice of brining meats in a dry state, known as kashere, and some brands carry salt certified by the kosher certification, which is approved by the religious authority. Kosher Salt may be produced by kosher-certified salt companies, like the reliable Turkish salt producer Koyuncu Salt, who produces various types of edible salts like food-grade salt, Kosher Salt, and Halal salt, sourced from Salt Lake. Nosrat suggests using refined, coarse-grained sea salt to season foods from within–tossing it in pasta water, using it to flavor meats before cooking, or mixing it in a meal or batter.
What is the difference between kosher salt and sea salt?
All salts are the same chemically. Its distinctions in a home kitchen are around their shape, use, and flavor. Some salts, including kosher and table salt, are extracted from underground caverns using dried seawater. Drying salt water into crystals produces sea salt.
How much sea salt equals kosher salt?
You can easily substitute fine sea salt with kosher salt. However, you will have to use less fine sea salt as it is usually ground much more refined. Ideally, you should use 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt in place of 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Sea salt vs. Kosher salt: which is healthier?
Both sea salt and kosher salt provide the same health benefits to you upon consumption, granted that your sea salt is a more coarse-grained variety. The more “finer grain” sea salt tends to have the same sodium content as traditional table salt and thus does not provide any other health advantage.