I have been gifted with some really chunky salt and having one is nice for that but I can also easily use my mortar and pestle which I do. I do not have a good quality salt grinder, just the plastic one that contains some chunky sea salt from Trader Joe. If your's is clutter and bother, I'd pass it along to someone else.

I'll be interested to see the responses. My uninformed opinion is that unlike herbs and spices, salt won't age. So as long as you can buy salt that you like in the consistency that you prefer, no need to grind coarse salt. I suppose preground salt may be more subject to clumping, but that's nothing my fingertips can't take care of as I add that pinch of salt.

I keep a salt grinder on hand and filled, but find that I rarely use it. I seem to be the only person around here who appreciates the consistency of ground sea salt. Everyone else just wants their food 'salted'.

I just received two boxes today of Diamond Crystal brand Kosher salt, and I'm not about to bring it to the table - especially when no one around here cares. (DC is impossible to find in NE Texas and my very kind mother in-law mails it to me from NJ.)

If I had my choice of using Kosher salt at the table and bringing a salt grinder, I'd likely use the Kosher salt 90 percent of the time. Still, a small investment in a manual salt grinder might be a fun experiment.

Welcome to the posting side of things. I'm relatively new to this forum (inhabited and posted in the citrus forum for years). Like you, I mostly read and enjoy the photos from all these chefs.

Take care.

adam

Here is a link that might be useful: Confessions of an Aspiring Food Snob

I have two pairs of salt and pepper mills that live on the dining table. The main advantage to the salt mill is that a standard salt shaker will only dispense standard salt (Morton's table salt etc). A mill will dispense more interesting salts. For flakey salts like kosher, or other salts that are already ground, little salt cellars work. Hardly a "necessity", of course.

It's to prevent that rock salt from loosing it's flavor when it's stored pre ground....:-Q
Any fancy schmancy salt I have is either already flakes, or in too big a hunk for the grinder.
Had one....no more!
Linda C

I've had a set of William Bounds grinders - salt and pepper for the past 30 years or more. They sit on a small glass tray on the dining table and I use them everyday. I also have a duplicate pepper grinder that is in the kitchen by the stove for use in cooking. I like using my salt grinder because I think it helps me to put less salt on my food at the table. I have had difficulty finding the right size salt chunks to use in the grinder at times. I could do without the salt grinder, I guess, but I like a matching pair and these don't show any sign of breaking down.

Teresa

I don't know about grinders (I have one that came in a set but I've never used it) but I do know French Gray and the ilk do have a shelf life. The salt is moist and not at all what would go in a grinder either. All the bottles have expiration dates and are kept tightly closed. It really has a distinctive flavor and is my favorite table salt.

I buy Celtic Sea Salt from the Grain & Salt Society that is such a large crystal it has to be ground to be used, and like Teresa, I've been grinding salt for years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grain & Salt Society

I haven't figure out a reason yet. I have an old kitchen salt shaker with larger holes that I use for Kosher salt when cooking so that works fine.

About the only time I put salt shakers on the table is when we have guests and I use sea salt in them.

Grainlady
Thank you for the info and the link.! I will order some of the celtic salt. Maybe that is what the grinder has been waiting for!!

It sounds wonderful.

Yes! Thanks for the link, grainlady! I might have to try that Celtic salt the next time I need to order for the grinder and for my salt pig.

Teresa

TJ Maxx usually has fresh sea salt if you are near one.

I had been using coarse Kosher salt in the grinder, but it really is not coarse enough to need grinding. The celtic sea salt sounds like what I was hoping for--
Any additional suggestions on salt that is worth the trouble of grinding and NEEDS grinding?

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Skimming over I don't see a response similiar to mine. I keep the salt grinder in my herbs. I use the regular ordinary salt for the table. I like to use the coarser ground salt as a finish to savory dishes (looks pretty!) and sometimes, I like to use it in sweets for a greater salt balance, i.e. chocolate dishes, peanut butter cookies, I haven't tried it-but I bet it'd be fabulous-in a carmel use...

I have a salt grinder that gets used daily. But I also use a number of different salts.

Ann

Ann
What salt do you keep in the grinder? Do you have more than a single grinder?

Oh yes. I use salt grinders pretty much all the time, in cooking, on the table, etc. I agree, a salt shaker is pretty limiting. I currently use pink Himalayan salt in my grinders, and I keep a salt pig (and a grinder) next to the cooktop for seasoning. I love buying interesting salts. I don't even have a box of "regular" salt in my cupboard any more. I also use salt cellars on the table for fancy dinners. Using different salts is fun for guests

Thanks, everyone. I am new to the cooking forum, and this is really fun.
I know I am going to try some Celtic salt and some pink Himalayan salt.
I am hoping for some more suggestions.
Who knows, instead of pitching the old salt grinder, I may need another one!!!