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What's the Difference? Pacific sea salt v regular salt

17 years ago

I was given a bag of Pacific Sea Salt and am wondering what is the difference between this product and regular salt. When would I use the sea salt versus regular salt. Is it supposed to be more healthy?

Here is a link that might be useful: Traveling and cooking with grandpa

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Comments (11)

centralcacyclist
17 years ago
Regular salt has a non-caking ingredient and iodide added that I usually don't find in sea salt. But sometimes do.

I don't think there are health benefits unless you want to count a few trace minerals and such. Salt is salt! Sea salt has a bit of flavor if you are sensitive to it. My sis claims she can tell the difference. I can't.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mayo Clinic
Ideefixe
17 years ago
I love salt, and collect different kinds. I think there's a huge difference in taste. I use Kosher in a big box for pasta water, Fleur del Salt for table use or for sprinkling on bread or chocolate chip cookies before I bake them, red salt for fish, etc. It's a pretty cheap hobby. I hate idodized salt--once I stopped using it, I can really taste the additives.
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I would like to learn how/when to use different salts. Me too! I don't have a great variety of salts, but lots of kinds are available to me locally at Penzey's and Central Market. I've often thought about buying some, especially at CM where they are available in bulk so that I can buy a little bit at a time. But I don't really know what to use them for.
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Chi83, I've looked at beautifully roasted, best crop brussels sprouts and thought they looked delicious, but could barely choke half of one down, and nearly brought it back up. I can deal with cauliflower and cabbage if they're raw or cooked right so they don't stink so bad. I have the same reaction to the sulphur in vitamin capsules. The best vitamins I ever had used to mask the smell of the sulphury B's with vanillin, but they wanted to be all natural so stopped that and didn't put in a different mask. Even after I aired out the smell and could swallow them, they came back up. I can eat all kinds of cheeses that stink worse! I just can't tolerate sulphur! Yes, the Canadian law (which I looked up yesterday) mandates iodine for table salt. The salt in canned goods probably doesn't have it. There's such a thing as too much iodine, and the amount of it people got from canned goods would be too variable, I'd think. Every kind of salt crystal has a different finished (serving) shape and, I think, density. You can get grinders that reduce sea salt to the size of regular table salt, but they're generally expensive. Regular salt grinders tend to make small flakes, which taste good, but are actually as big as several grains of regular table salt. That's probably why sea salt tastes saltier. The iodine in salt is bitter, however, and it could be that sensing the bitterness along with the saltiness lessens the perception of saltiness. BTW, The Canadian Salt Company, according to Wikipedia, has been a division of Morton since the 1950's and is the maker of Windsor, Fino and Safe-T-Salt. By their own website, Compass Minerals, the makers of Sifto, are the largest salt producers in North America. It sounds like table salt is a very small part of what they produce. I also learned that the discovery of the original Sifto salt bed started a "salt rush". That sounded interesting, but a quick search on Amazon/Amazon.ca didn't turn up any books on the subject. I have a copy of Salt (the history of salt, not the spy novel) that my father passed along to me awhile back. I suppose I should read that...
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I haven't purchased iodized salt in 4 decades, BUT, I supplement our diet with seaweed, which is also a low sodium salt alternative, and make sure we consume other foods high in iodine on a regular basis. I generally use natural Celtic Salt, "REAL SALT" - fine grind for popcorn, Himalaya Pink Salt (for the salt grinder and fermented vegetables), and different grinds of Italian "Antica Salina Sea Salt" (available at Big Lots). FYI: When iodized salt is stored for long periods of time, it can turn a light golden yellow color, but it is perfectly safe to consume. There are any number of foods that also supply iodine. Here's a list of 22, and most of them you enjoy all the time. http://bembu.com/iodine-rich-foods You may find this article helpful: What Are the Benefits of Celtic Sea Salt for Thyroid? http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/benefits-celtic-sea-salt-thyroid-5114.html -Grainlady
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The best resource I’ve ever found for fermenting is the book Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten K Shockey and Christopher Shockey. It answered many questions I’ve had for years and some I didn’t know I had. Here’s a little on what the Shockeys say about salt: ….there is no reason to settle for kosher pickling salt or other highly refined salts, which contain additives that are not helpful to your ferment. These refined salts are salty in a way that assaults your taste buds. When people come to us with talks of too-salty kraut, the first question we ask is, what kind of salt did you use: The answer is almost always pickling salt. Mineral –rich salt added to nutrient –dense food is a good solution [to the issue of mineral deficiency]. Because all salts are not the same, density, and therefore weight, will vary according to mineral content and coarseness. That is partly why the amount of salt given in these recipes is not exact. We have made the same recipe, changing only the salt variety, and had very different results---another good reason to taste your ferments when salting. We are not concerned with the trace amounts of iodine in unrefined salts.
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centralcacyclist
17 years ago
I eat mostly salt free so I imagine that's why I can't detect the differences. I can sure taste "salty" if there is much salt at all.
Terri_PacNW
17 years ago
Sea salt tastes cleaner than "table salt"..Sea salt is my table and baking salt..I use kosher for water, and rubs.
User
17 years ago
I love my sea salts. I use them primarily as finishing salts and at the table. Kosher salt is my salt of choice for most cooking.

There is something about the texture of sea salt and kosher salt that makes it delightful to cook with...you can real grab a pinch.
sands99
17 years ago
I love sea salts and kosher salt. As someone with a well I do appreciate the trace minerals that contribute the taste with sea salt. I use kosher salt when I want no iodide - like brining, but I use regular iodized salt in pasta water. I like sea salt in grinders at the table where I can truly appreciate the taste and texture differences. Just my $0.02.
sands99
17 years ago
btw I know there is a difference when measuring kosher, sea, and coarsely cut salt vs table salt. Appears the general rule of thumb is 2:1 coarse:table. Anyone have a breakdown on the difference? I'll go check and report back. But real life experience often trumps reference so...

wow found a very informative salt site with great info

http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html
paddy_99
17 years ago
Actually at one time or another all salt was sea salt. The ocean water evaporated leaving the salt deposits.

I can on occasion taste the iodine in iodized salt. I think the differences in taste may have more to do with the size of the salt crystals than the actual salt itself.

I know nothing about the colored salts so can not comment on their taste.
mustangs81
17 years ago
Sand, That is a great website, I have bookmarked it.
pkguy
17 years ago
Something to note if you're on a salt restricted diet but want to cheat once in a while.. using coarse sea salt or kosher salts etc give you the same bang even better tastewise and you're actually using less salt than if you used table salt because of the chunky granules.
lindac
17 years ago
If you wonder what the difference is, put a few grains in your hand and taste....you'll see!
And if you don't see a difference.....send the sea salt to me!
Linda C

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