Why does the type of salt matter?


 
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Pat Trammell

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In looking at rub recipes I have seen several of them (BRITU specifically) call for non-iodized salt. Why is this and why does it matter if it is iodized or not? I have also seen some call for Kosher salt.

Is there any rule of thumb to use iodized, non-iodized, kosher, or sea salt?

I'd like to know as I am running out of room in my cabinet.

Thanks!
 
Pat,

My understanding is that iodized salt can give some foods a chemically flavor, kind of metallic, but that only some people are sensitive to this. Both iodized and non-iodized salt will taste stronger than kosher salt using the same amounts because kosher salt crystals are bigger and do not pack as tightly as table salt, therefore you get more "salt" per cup with table salt than with kosher salt. Even different kosher salts have different sized crystals that make on taste "saltier" than another. Cooks Illustrated recently did a taste testing on kosher and sea salts, October 2002, and found that there was very little diffence between the really expensive sea salts, up to 36 dollars per pound, and both Morton's and Diamond Crystals Kosher salts. My personal preference is to use Kosher salt for everything except popcorn and the salt shaker for the table. Hope this helps.

Tim
 
Pat,
I agree with Tim. Iodizes table salt has a slight off taste when compared to Kosher or sea salt.
See Chris's page on brining for more info on salt.

rj
 
Iodine adds a metallic flavor, so many recipes call for uniodinized salt. I started using Kosher salt because Alton Brown did. (I know, I know, if Alton Brown jumped off a bridge . . .)

FYI: In some parts of the world, particularly the Great Lakes region, the soil contains no iodine, so the plants contain no iodine and therefore iodine deficiency became a problem. A lack of iodine causes Thyroid problems and Goiter which used to be prevalent in the Midwest. Therefore, companies started adding iodine to salt in the 1920's to eliminate goiter and thyroid problems.
 
Dave,

I think alot of us feel the same way about Alton Brown (if he could explain why jumping off a bridge worked then.....) /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Tim
 
Enough with all the fancy chefs let us turn to a real authority the Ball Blue Book /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif It calls for non-iodized salt. I don't know if the link works but I post a link on this very subject some time ago. The real answer is to do a taste test and see what you prefer. I like Kosher, Diamond Crystal first with Mortons a close second.
 
I have seen it in post's that iodized salt will leave red streaks on your meat...if that don't sound painfull...
Dave
 
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