Salt is a crucial ingredient in cooking, and an even more crucial mineral your body needs. Not only does it improve the flavour, texture, and shelf life of food, but it also helps maintain blood pressure, regulate fluid balance, enable nerve signal transmission, and help contract and relax muscles. To date, it’s the most used and consumed culinary staple globally. But we’re not just talking about salt you get in those rice-filled shakers on the table, we’re talking Kosher, Rock, Pink Himalayan and more.
Discover the different salt types, how they affect food and the right type for every dish.
Salt 101: 10 types of salt
Salt is almost unmatched in its ability to enhance the flavour of food (its major competitor, MSG, is controversial but holds up). With so many types of salt available, knowing which to use for what can get a tad overwhelming.
Here are the top 10 types and their common uses:
1. Table salt
The most common salt bought and used for cooking, table salt is extracted from salt brines and has a super fine grain (making it easy to dissolve). You also get ‘iodised salt’, which is table salt fortified with potassium iodide (to help people prevent iodine deficiency).
Use in general, daily cooking, baking, and for last-minute seasoning.
2. Kosher salt
First used by the Jewish community for drawing out excess moisture in meats, kosher salt is now widely used today. It has a coarse texture due to its large grain, and adds a briny flavour and crunch to meals.
Use in daily cooking, baking, curing, and as a last-minute seasoning.
3. Sea salt
Made from evaporated seawater, sea salt comes in a variety of colours, coarseness, and flavours, depending on where it was made. Due to its origins, it’s packed with minerals and nutrients found in the sea, and provides a bigger burst of flavour to meals. Because of this, and the lengthy production process, this pricey salt is scarcely used as a last-minute seasoning or garnishing on gourmet meals and baked goodies.
4. Flakey salt
Part of the sea salt family, flakey salt is defined by its distinct ultra-flaky, pyramid-like crystals. These stick to food better, dissolve more quickly and impart flavour without changing the texture of a dish.
Use to finish meats, seafood, baked goods and create spice blends.
5. Fleur de sel
This salt specifically comes from a coast called Brittany in France. Traditional wooden rakes are used to harvest the top layer of salt evaporation ponds only during sunny and dry days. The result: off-white or blue-grey paper-thin, extremely fine, delicate salt crystals. Because it can only be gathered on certain days dictated by the weather, it has a much higher price tag.
Use to garnish meats, seafood, main meals and desserts.
6. Rock salt
Rock salt is literally extracted from the earth’s surface, also known as salt mines. Rock salt is rich in minerals, parting exciting new flavour dimensions. It’s very coarse, looks like small rocks, and takes a while to dissolve.
Used to cure foods, in brines, or as crusts.
7. Pickling salt
A family member of fine, table salt, and pickling salt’s super fine grain is essential to the canning and pickling process. The finer grains dissolve easily and help prolong shelf-life, all while maintaining the produce’s taste and texture. There are no anti-caking additives, so it might get clumpy in storage.
Used in canning and pickling liquids and brines.
8. Black Himalayan salt
Also known as Kala namak salt, it has a unique, pungent aroma and flavour due to its high sulphur content (and colour). Some people describe this salt with an eggy smell and flavour. It’s popular in vegan recipes to provide that egginess.
Use in dishes that can stand up to its pungent taste and aroma.
9. Himalayan pink salt
Also extracted from Earth’s surface, Himalayan pink salt contains 84 minerals, with traces of iron oxide and magnesium giving it its distinctive pink colour. Available in fine and coarse grains, it provides complex, bold, and slightly sweet flavours.
Use in daily cooking, baking, and finishing/last-minute seasoning.
10. Speciality salts
Speciality salts, or flavoured salts, have been infused with different ingredients. Many ingredients can be used to infuse salts, and they are a great way to add variety to dishes. Different types of speciality salts include:
- Seasoning salt: Any spice blend made from salt and other spices. Use in cooking or as a last-minute seasoning.
- Garlic salt: Made by combining garlic powder and table or kosher salt (usually in a 1:3 ratio). Use in daily cooking and marinades.
- Smoked salt: Salt crystals are slowly smoked over a wood fire. Different varieties are available based on the type of wood used during the smoking process. Use in meaty dishes, to add a smoky flavour or as a finishing or garnish.
Practical tips for seasoning
Seasoning depends on the type of ingredients being used, the flavour profile of a dish, and personal (or health) preference. But here are a few golden rules to keep to when cooking.
- When to salt: Pros season lightly as they cook to build up flavour and create the texture they want from a dish. Taste as you cook, and add a pinch of salt when necessary.
- How much is too much: If the dish or ingredient is inedible, we’d say that’s too much salt.
- Pairing the right salt type for the dish: Use finer salt grains in soups, stews, and sauces; and coarser grains for roasts, meaty dishes, as garnishes and in baking. Bigger grains, like rock salt, can be used to make baking crusts (like for fish) or in brining liquids.
- Common mistakes: Try to avoid seasoning dishes right at the end, as this produces bland or overly salty results. Don’t use flavoured salts in dishes with opposite flavour profiles, like smoked salt in baked goods, or rock salt on fresh oysters, for example.
Salt is more than just a shaker on the table; it’s a tool that shapes flavour, texture, and preservation. Experiment with different salts in your everyday cooking and find the best one that brings out the flavour in your dishes.
