Comments by "GH1618" (@GH-oi2jf) on "What is kosher salt, and why do (American) chefs love it?" video.

  1. Morton Kosher should be under $5 for three pounds.
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  2. It’s odd that some people worry about chemical additives to salt permitted by the FDA, but not about random chemical impurities from the ground where the salt is mined.
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  3. True, but you can also get noniodized table salt.
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  4. But kosher salt, Morton or Diamond, is purified. It isn’t rock salt.
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  5. We do use fresh garlic and onion in the United States. Some people may use garlic powder or onion flakes. The main advantage would be for commercial use to save labor.
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  6. But “kosher” salt isn’t special, any more than table salt is special because it is made to fit through those tiny holes in a salt shaker. Salt is all the same, except for differences in physical structure and impurities, but those differences are important. The salt that is dumped on icy roads would not work well in a salt shaker, for example. Just translate “kosher” as “cooking” and it doesn’t seem so special.
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  7. It could better be called “cooking salt,” since that’s how we use it.
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  8. No, that’s different.
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  9. No, the shape of the flakes is an important aspect. “Coarse” salt doesn’t tell me much at all, but when I buy Morton Coarse Kosher Salt, I know what to expect: pure salt of a particular coarseness with flattened crystals.
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  10. He appears to be using a dish of salt just for the cooking session (two dishes, actually), after which excess salt will be discarded and the dishes washed. The cook touches practically every ingredient. Why not the salt?
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  11. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt contains yellow prussiate of soda.
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  12. You will have to tell that to Morton. We buy “kosher” salt because that’s what it says on the box.
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  13. What is called “kosher salt” could just as well be called “cooking salt.”
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  14. Don’t blame the cooks. Ask Morton. As for as I am concerned, it is cooking salt. I don’t care what they call it.
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  15. The box is labeled “kosher salt.”
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  16. The density varies depending on the type of salt, so if you will use more than one kind of salt for cooking, you will need to weigh it to get consistent results.
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  17. Rock salt is much different in the United States. That is what you might put on your sidewalk to melt ice.
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  18. All salt comes from the sea, although sometimes in deposits from an ancient seabed.
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  19. Let us in. What’s the joke?
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  20. Whatever makes it pink isn’t salt. Not sodium chloride anyway.
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  21. exactly.
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  22. It’s yellow prussiate of soda. 21 CFR § 172.490 Yellow prussiate of soda. (a) The food additive yellow prussiate of soda (sodium ferrocyanide decahydrate; Na4Fe(CN)6·10H2O contains a minimum of 99 percent by weight of sodium ferrocyanide decahydrate. (b) The additive is used or intended for use as an anticaking agent in salt and as an adjuvant in the production of dendritic crystals of salt in an amount needed to produce its intended effect but not in excess of 13 parts per million calculated as anhydrous sodium ferrocyanide.
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  23. I don’t know what an “anti-flaking” agent is. Morton Kosher does contain an anti-caking agent, but there is not enough to affect the saltiness of the product compared to pure salt. Additives in salt are a miniscule proportion of the whole.
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  24. Morton table salt is a little more dense than Morton kosher, but not much.
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  25. It is better to follow USDA FSIS recommendations.
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  26. You don’t eat it directly. You cook with it.
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  27. It is mostly sold to people who cook, regardless of faith.
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  28. No, it is inexpensive.
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  29. Competent chefs do not want food oversalted, they want it properly salted. Salt balances food to match the salinity of body fluids. If it is undersalted, it will taste flat.
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  30. That may be, but Morton is more common in homes. If you write a recipe using Diamond, and someone makes it with Morton, they will oversalt. The other way around and they will undersalt. Too little salt is easy to fix. Too much is not.
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  31. I don’t think so. There are far more cooks than Jews in the United States.
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  32. I doubt that, for the reason you give. It would be a poor choice to publish a recipe based on Diamond Crystal without stating it and giving an equivalint for Morton, because most people will use Morton (it being more widely available), or even Morton table salt. If they oversalt as a result, it will reflect poorly on the recipe. Undersalting is not such a problem, so write the recipe for Morton.
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  33. A US cup is half a US pint, but only 4/10 of an Imperial pint.
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  34. Really? What do professional cooks use? Have you done a survey all around Europe? There are many countries. Edit: It looks to me like this is ordinary French cooking salt: Guérande Coarse Sea Salt, also called grey salt. Fleur de sel is white finishing salt.
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  35. Not really. It comes in a bigger box of a more convenient shape, and it’s less expensive.
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  36. About five times the price of Morton Coarse Kosher.
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  37.  @caskwith  — Inexpensive. Morton Kosher in a 3 lb box is usually between $1 and $1.50 per pound, depending on where you get it. I don’t remember what it costs at my regular market. Morton table salt is available in a 4 lb box and is a little cheaper, but that box is not commonly seen in supermarkets. The common container for table salt is about 1.6 lb.
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  38. Grinding salt at home is strange when it can be bought already ground.
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  39. Morton Kosher salt is not particularly expensive. They are in the business of selling salt and they make money from every form of it.
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  40. No, it is the form of salt American cooks use, and it is significantly less dense than table salt. It is important to say what is used to avoid over salting.
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  41. Pink salt has impurities. NaCl is not pink.
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  42. It is marked “kosher salt” on the box.
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  43. Salt is all the same chemically, but different forms of salt have different densities. When salting water, it is only about getting the right salinity. For a reference point, normal saline is 9 grams per liter.
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  44. Only the cook is using the salt dish while cooking, and he probably dumps the excess when he is done and puts the dish in the wash. He would also wash and dry his hands before sitting down to dinner. A salt shaker is meant to be passed around the dinner table, so should be kept clean.
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  45. “Kosher” salt is pure salt, differing from other pure salt types only in physical structure, with, optionally, some anti-caking agent added. It is not a scam, it is better for cooking because of the flattened crystals.
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  46. Actually, Morton Coarse Kosher salt is only about a half heavier than an equal volume of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, although different sources give different numbers.
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  47. If he is using a dish of salt for the one cooking session only, as he appears to be doing, it doesn’t matter. Any salt left over should go down the drain. I take a pinch of salt directly from my salt container which holds salt for weeks until it is used up, but I don’t handle raw meat before salting. I use a fork to turn it. What does bother me about his technique is the way he handles raw chicken.
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  48. I’ve never seen “regular salt flakes.” For me, Morton Coarse Kosher is my regular flake salt.
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  49. No. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is the thing to use, because it’s widely available. Or use Diamond if you have a steady supply. You shouldn’t switch brands back and forth.
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  50. Only table salt has added iodine.
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  51. I’m sure he could, but we have “kosher” salt in the USA and it is better for cooking, so that’s what cooks use.
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  52. US recipes should be written with Morton Coarse Kosher in mind, since that is the most readily available. If they are written for Diamond, without saying so, then a cook using Morton will oversalt. The other way around is not a problem, because it is easy to add salt. Whatever salt you prefer, it is best to always use the same salt for cooking and to calibrate it to normal saline, which is 9g per liter. For Morton Coarse Kosher, I get 1/8 US cup per 2 2/3 US quart of water. I use 3 quarts to give a margin of error. A solution greater than normal saline will taste too salty.
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  53. “packed”? The anti-caking agent is limited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to less than thirteen ten-thousandths of 1 percent.
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  54. Whatever makes it pink is not Sodium Chloride. What is it?
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  55. All salt is sea salt, directly or indirectly.
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  56. It isn’t about taste. “Kosher” salt (in the USA) is in a form convenient for cooking because of the flat flakes.
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  57. If he has a dish with salt for one cooking session, after which any excess is dumped, it isn’t a problem. I use a container that holds about a cup of salt and I pinch directly from it, but I don’t handle meat then pinch salt. A cook should not have “dirty” fingers. I doubt any bacterium would live long in pure salt, so just using ordinary clean, dry hands should not be a problem. When my salt pig gets near empty, I empty it, wash it, then refill it when it is thoroughly dry.
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  58. You don’t anything for that when you buy kosher salt. You pay for the manufacture and distribution. The cost isn’t much different from table salt.
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  59. Can’t you find Morton Coarse Kosher online?
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  60. It is labeled “Morton Coarse Kosher Salt.” That’s pretty straightforward, except for the word “Kosher.” Home cooks like me quickly learn that it’s the one to use for cooking, then we just buy it. We don’t obsess over it.
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  61. No, kosher salt is easier to take in pinches because it is flattened flakes.
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  62. It is the best salt for cooking. Religion has nothing to do with it.
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  63. He didn’t state a preferred brand and he shows both brands in this video.
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  64. All salt comes from the sea.
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  65. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is not iodized.
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  66. The way to avoid cross contamination does not involve salt. It means avaiding touching raw poultry at all until it is cooked, or thoroughly washing your hands after touching it, if you must. Also washing any utensils which touch the raw poultry before they touch any other food. Pinching salt is not inconsistent with rigorous protocols for avoiding cross contamination.
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  67. No, Diamond is less dense than Morton. This is well known and is mentioned on other food sites.
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  68. Saltwater seafood contains iodine. Also eggs and dairy products.
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  69. Who knew table salt had a fan club? Pretty nearly every serious cook from professionals down to those just cooking at home for themselves uses “kosher” salt for cooking. The real controversy is whether to use Morton or Diamond Crystal.
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  70. “Kosher” salt is not expensive.
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  71. For what purpose? When you add salt to a pot of water, it will dissolve no matter what size the crystals are.
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  72. Some salt is essential.
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  73. What a lot of unnecessary work! Also messy.
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  74. Ironically, Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is made in Canada.
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  75. It may be the best cooking salt in the world, but in the United States it costs at least five times as much as Morton Coarse Kosher. There are some American foodies who like to pay much more for ingredients from Europe rather than buy inexpensive and readily available American ingredients, but not many.
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