Kosher salt is the name we give to flaky salt that is much larger than regular, iodized table salt. This is the sort of salt that you can take a pinch of, drop it on your dish, and still see it a few moments later. Because of its big flakes kosher salt is slow to dissolve, making it perfect for the process of koshering meat. Even though kosher salt is used in the koshering process it is not necessarily considered a kosher product.

Kosher salt is also sometimes called cooking salt, flake salt, rock salt, and kashering salt.

History of Kosher Salt

Kosher salt has an interesting history. The name comes from 20th century America, at a time when Eastern European Jews were making their way to the United States in large numbers. This group of people was using this type of salt well before its popularity began to surge in the United States, but it was called “koshering salt” to them. Around this time, American families were shifting from buying in bulk to buying prepackaged goods in supermarkets. Salt makers had to find a way to make their salt stand out, so marketers in America mislabeled this “kosher salt” to gain attention from the newer Jewish crowd. Some salt manufacturers even printed labels in Yiddish. The name stuck, traveling through time and remaining “kosher salt” to this day. Now the salt appeals to a wider audience, and the name kosher salt is often just thought of as “a Jewish salt” even though it has no distinct ties with Judaism anymore. Now it is just a salt Americans have designated as the true ultimate cooking salt.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is often harvested in the same way that regular sea salt is harvested. This happens through an evaporation process. Water is evaporated away and then the leftover salt is forced through rollers under a lot of pressure to produce the long, flat, flaky salts.

There is another way kosher salt is produced, called the Alberger process. This process is a form of mechanical evaporation that involves steam and a pan. Salt produced in this way is good for the fast food industry, because it has a stronger flavor with the use of less product.

Table Salt vs Kosher Salt

Kosher salt, at a microscopic level, tends to be flat and plate like or shaped like hollow pyramids. Table salt is much more cubic. Refined kosher salt is produced by taking cubic salts or sea salts and forcing them into plates under a lot of pressure. This makes the salt slightly more uniform, yet still bigger than a regular table salt.

Table salt is completely uniform and is often produced through the process of filling salt mines with water, collecting the water and then evaporating it so the salt is left behind.

What's in it?

Our Large Flake Kosher Salt is kosher salt with some yellow prussiate of soda, which is an anti-caking agent.  We also carry a smaller flake Kosher Salt that does not contain any anti-caking agents.

Cooking with Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is a top choice for professional kitchens. It is easy to control and can be grasped with your fingers nicely. That “pinch of salt” you always hear about usually means a pinch of “kosher salt.” You can use the salt anywhere you would use table salt, with just a slight difference in amount due to the size of the salt flakes. However, this salt is not really recommended for baking since it is slower to dissolve than table salt.

Kosher salt is also excellent for curing meats or for drawing the juices out of meats. This is a process that involves salting the meat and allowing the salt to draw out any liquids to be wiped away before the cooking process. While this imparts some saltiness to the dish, it is much less than would be present if table salt were used in the koshering process. Often times, the big flakes of koshering salt might break down just enough to draw out some liquid and then be wiped away with the liquids.

Kosher salt is excellent for homemade pretzels, on bagels, and in many pasta recipes. It is a cooking salt but can sometimes be used as a finishing salt if you use it on soups or stews.

What Does Large Flake Kosher Salt Taste Like?

Kosher salt is a very salty salt, since it has bigger flakes and is slower to dissolve.

Substitutions and Conversions

Kosher salt is bigger in size than regular table salt, so it is not nearly as dense. The following measurements are used as an estimate for how much salt you should use when substituting with kosher salt.

1 tablespoon of table salt is approximately equal to 1 tablespoon and ¾ teaspoon of kosher salt.

1 tablespoon and ¼ teaspoon of fine grain sea salt is approximately equal to 1 tablespoon and ¾ teaspoon of kosher salt.

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