Salt

[chefjpaul]

Salt conundrum.

Quick overview and thought on salt.


For the basic first seasoning a medium course grade kosher salt is what I advise, it dissolves fast when cooking.

Never use salt in a marinade, exceptions to brines.

Soy is a great alternative, giving a complex umami saltiness.

Finishing-
Now for finishing salts is where things get complicated, depending on the subtlety of the dish, many varieties are used.

Some recommendations examples are salads, vegetables, lighter fair and a first courses I use flaky sea salts, as- fleur de sel, pink, Hawaii red or even kosher.

Now for fishes, cures, preserves, brines I like the himalayan pink freshly grated.

Grilled meats as chicken, duck, lamb, beef, or cats, a nice course & flakey grey or Hawaiian black are suitable.

Smoked salts are an awesome alternative with a touch of smokiness and texture.

Rock salt- dissolves ice???
Iodized - just disgustingly wrong!

Have fun and make your own salt blends utilizing spices and herbs.


There are thousands more salts and uses of…
but for your reef tank- pick one, stick with it and move on.

 

[saltyphish]

My wife has been buying the seal salt in the grinders lately, when I brine I use kosher.

 

[Jlobes]

jacobsen sea salt from OR, is the bomb! crazy big flakes, and slow evaporated, right at the source.

 

[twilliard]

Salt raises blood pressure so I try to avoid it but an absolute must in making my dog treats :-) (jerky)

 

[Jlobes]

Salt raises blood pressure so I try to avoid it but an absolute must in making my dog treats :) (jerky)

haha. an absolute MUST for food with flavor.
stress raises blood pressure too. So, i just eat salt and avoid stress, to compensate.

 

[twilliard]

I will have to sell my kids off to follow that plan! Oh and the labs lol

 

[chefjpaul]

jacobsen sea salt from OR, is the bomb! crazy big flakes, and slow evaporated, right at the source.

Nice! I'll look into it.

I love salts, I have a vast collection at work and home.

 

[Jlobes]

Nice! I'll look into it.

I love salts, I have a vast collection at work and home.

nice. same here!

definitely check out jacobsen, sea harvested in the US.

 

[jsker]

Salt conundrum.

Quick overview and thought on salt.


For the basic first seasoning a medium course grade kosher salt is what I advise, it dissolves fast when cooking. There is no differences in how fast it devolves that is all BS. In most professional kitchen kosher is used for the simple reason it is courser and easier to use then regular salt.

Never use salt in a marinade, exceptions to brines. Brines are types of cures, and some believe by brining it helps pull moisture back in to the meat, salt actually dry out the meat. Marinades usually contain some sort of acid to tenderize/ pre-cook/tenderize meat, also adding flavor and the same time. most bases for marinades are citrus, vinegar, etc

Soy is a great alternative, giving a complex umami saltiness. I agree, but store shelve soy sauce are salty as heck.

Finishing-
Now for finishing salts is where things get complicated, depending on the subtlety of the dish, many varieties are used.

Some recommendations examples are salads, vegetables, lighter fair and a first courses I use flaky sea salts, as- fleur de sel, pink, Hawaii red or even kosher. I switched away from sea salt for the reason that most sea salts are cultivated using water out of ports and not the most clean water.

Now for fishes, cures, preserves, brines I like the himalayan pink freshly grated. Agree, what ever is minded and himalayan is the fad right now

Grilled meats as chicken, duck, lamb, beef, or cats, a nice course & flakey grey or Hawaiian black are suitable. again refer to my last answer

Smoked salts are an awesome alternative with a touch of smokiness and texture. Agree and if you have a smoker you can smoke off you own salt using coarse salt of pepper corns

Rock salt- dissolves ice??? yes and also used in the process of making hand turned ice-cream, curing lox and pickling
Iodized - just disgustingly wrong! not really, most salts contain iodine and minded salts do not. the reason iodine is added if for the people that live away from oceans and can not get enough iodine the medical did studies and concluded that population living away from oceans and not have fish and other products in the oceans were having thyroid issue and they started adding iodine to salt that was mind. here is an artical about why there is iodized salt http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/c...ne-to-salt-boosted-americans-iq/#.VkugVvmrRhE

Have fun and make your own salt blends utilizing spices and herbs.


There are thousands more salts and uses of…
but for your reef tank- pick one, stick with it and move on.

Just had to put my spin on the whole sale thing. please read the quote

 

[chefjpaul]

Agree to an extent- but,

I was mainly implying about the "what is the best salt for reef" threads.

If you would like I can get literature as I have had a major hand in writing culinary arts text books for schools in the Untied States and abroad.

I can literally go on about any ingredient for months and pages.

Was just poking fun at a subject charred & well done.

I've been collecting salts and using many varieties for well over 25 yrs. only to the public are any trends.

 

[Jlobes]

Agree to an extent- but,

I was mainly implying about the "what is the best salt for reef" threads.

If you would like I can get literature as I have had a major hand in writing culinary arts text books for schools in the Untied States and abroad.

I can literally go on about any ingredient for months and pages.

Was just poking fun at a subject charred & well done.

I've been collecting salts and using many varieties for well over 25 yrs. only to the public are any trends.

WOW. really!? thats awesome. I bet youd be a fun guy to hang out and chat food with!! ;)

 

[chefjpaul]