Sea Salts and Kosher Salt:

Sea salts and kosher salt are becoming more popular with home cooks now that their fine qualities are being touted by celebrity chefs, cooking shows and cookbook authors. Kosher and sea salts have many advantages in cooking over regular table salt and they come in a wide variety of textures, colors, and flavors.

Kosher salt is actually lower in sodium than table salt. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is the top brand preferred by chefs and other fine cooks. The grains are larger and shaped like hollow pyramids, which take up more room and dissolve faster. This means that it's easier to season your food while using less sodium. Sometimes table salt is "iodized" because of an outdated concern that people weren't getting enough of this essential mineral in our diets. It's easy to get enough iodine by eating seafood a couple of times a week or taking a multivitamin. Dairy products also deliver iodine because it is used to clean dairy farming equipment. Other ingredients may also be added to table salt, for a variety of reasons, such as; Fluoride, Sodium, calcium silicate and magnesium dioxide.

Sea salts are mined from the ocean. The sea water is evaporated either by the sun or mechanically. What is left is a slurry of salt, sand, and minerals. The more complex sea salts are not separated from the minerals and vary in color. They include as many as 82 other essential minerals and naturally occurring compounds that add to their complexity and taste. They are a much healthier alternative than table salt and do not add the tinny, metallic taste that comes from Iodine.