# "High qality salt"



## Ucmd (Jul 18, 2017)

I was reading a website about lacotofermentaion and it mentioned the use of high quality salt as an ingredient. Ok please sell me a bridge....can anyone please explain high quality vs low. Can anyone provide a link for great salt. I am posting this because i tried their products and quality was amazing.


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## krx927 (Jul 18, 2017)

This:

http://www.soline.si/en/shop/products/salt-and-saltrelated-products/salt-flower-in-glass-jar-70g

http://www.soline.si/en/article/salt-panning_2/salt-flower


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_de_sel#Europe


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## OliverNuther (Jul 18, 2017)

My guess would be a non-iodised salt with no anti caking agents added. Morton or Maldon would fit the bill though more expensive. I've not dabbled in fermentation but I've done a bit of pickling and personally I just use any non iodised cooking salt with no anti caking agents as they can turn your pickles grey.


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## Wdestate (Jul 18, 2017)

OliverNuther said:


> My guess would be a non-iodised salt with no anti caking agents added. Morton or Maldon would fit the bill though more expensive. I've not dabbled in fermentation but I've done a bit of pickling and personally I just use any non iodised cooking salt with no anti caking agents as they can turn your pickles grey.



i agree with oliver, thinking your just looking for salt without additives. ive done some basic fermenting at work and always just used diamond crystal kosher.


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## DitmasPork (Jul 18, 2017)

Ucmd said:


> I was reading a website about lacotofermentaion and it mentioned the use of high quality salt as an ingredient. Ok please sell me a bridge....can anyone please explain high quality vs low. Can anyone provide a link for great salt. I am posting this because i tried their products and quality was amazing.



With salt you can certainly go over the top with exotic and pricey Hawaiian black salt, or hand harvest fleur de sel from Brittany, or even arctic salt. For I would recommend Ball brand pickling salt for fermenting additive free kosher salt also works fine.

I've never tried the cheese making salt from the "Cultures for Health" website, but it might be worth looking into. Go with kosher is what I say!

In my kitchen I'll always have two salts on hand:
 Diamond Kosher salt is my workhorse salt, for pasta water, sauces, meats, pretty much everythingthe size/texture of the grains gives a lot of control.
 Maldon sea salt is what I use when salt is a garnish on grilled meats, etc. Too pricey for fermenting.


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## GorillaGrunt (Jul 18, 2017)

Yep, what you want is usually labeled as "canning salt" or "pickling salt." Something like Maldon or fleur de sel would just be wasted in pickling (or for anything but finishing a dish). There's one fermentation website that recommends Himalayan pink salt; I can't speak to that as salt with trace minerals such as Himalayan pink or Celtic gray sea salt might very well make a difference in the final product.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jul 18, 2017)

Got a Korean grocer nearby? Ask him for salt for making kimchee.


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## Aleque (Jul 18, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> Got a Korean grocer nearby? Ask him for salt for making kimchee.



Speaking of Korean grocery stores, I've found that they generally have very cheap sea salt prices. You can gets decent sized bags of it for like $3 USD. Going to any other grocery store would charge much more.


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## Mucho Bocho (Jul 18, 2017)

Best hand salt fir the price is David's. Really nice dry cupped flakes. 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/David-s-...75035&wl11=online&wl12=10420070&wl13=&veh=sem


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## ThEoRy (Jul 18, 2017)

For cooking most things it's Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011BPMUK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


For finishing Maldon Flake. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y2S0LLO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Of course there's grey salt, pink salt, black salt, smoked salt etc. I was just stating the basics.


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## Mucho Bocho (Jul 18, 2017)

I don't like the feeling of crystal salts in between my fingers anymore. Once you go flake, you can never go back.


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## daveb (Jul 19, 2017)

Must resist flaky jokes.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jul 19, 2017)

Not sure exactly what you are looking for but in terms of crystal salts I have been very happy with Salt Works ...

https://www.seasalt.com/gourmet-salt/by-the-pound.html

I normally use them for finishing products but I also love their grey salts .... let us know what you figure out.


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## WOK-a-holic (Jul 19, 2017)

The only salt I use is :
Himalayan pink ,
diamond crystal brand kosher salt, 
Real Salt brand (occasionally) 

diamond crystal kosher salt ,has a really nice texture, it's really good for sprinkling with your fingers.
Himalayan pink salt, I like fresh ground from Salt Mill /grinder.

most table salt is processed with chemicals and heated in a blast furnace. stripped of all natural minerals and Trace elements .Along with added caking agents that are poisonous and affect the way our bodies process the salt. table salt is poison.
sea salt comes from the Ocean . In modern times oceans are heavily polluted. I used to use sea salt, not anymore.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jul 19, 2017)

You can always make a too-coarse salt finer with a blender or mortar


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## WOK-a-holic (Jul 19, 2017)

I'm doing a salt experiment right .so I took fine ground Himalayan pink salt,dissolved in water until water couldn't hold any more salt and there was leftovers on bottom of container. set outside in glass Pyrex dish ,direct sunlight. getting some very large flakes floating on top of water.
I'm going to see if I can get a texture similar to Diamond Crystal Brand kosher salt.


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## WOK-a-holic (Jul 19, 2017)

I'll let you guys know the results soon


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## qjlforever (Jul 27, 2017)

Good question.I am interested in it.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jul 27, 2017)

"Along with added caking agents that are poisonous and affect the way our bodies process the salt."

There might be a grain of truth in that, given that ferricyanides are the kind of stuff where every amateur chemist book says "not poison per se, be careful because these are easy to turn into real poison by accident..."

..

However, all that talk about salt textures ... who serves a dish with undissolved salt*, unless it is literally sprinkled on a sandwich, or chosen too coarse?**

...

*am I thinking far too much in "salt goes in the broth/batter/sauce most of the time, and better be dissolved" terms?

**bears repeating: The trick to vulgar-decadent french fries is dust fine salt.


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## tommybig (Jul 28, 2017)

I once saw a show where they went on testing all the "high-class" salts and comparing results. I went on googling stuff for an hour or so.

Bottom line was thats its all the same stuff and the difference is basically about looks and shape/textures. No diffrence in taste whatsover (if no other substance is addet).


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## Ucmd (Jul 28, 2017)

Ok, Maldon and diamond salts arrived. Thanks theory. I will start my next lactofermentation projext this weekend and also plan to preserve or pickle tomatoes. Will let you know how it tastes. Thanks all.


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## Rob_Sutherland (Jul 28, 2017)

Try Balinese sea salt. Wonderful finisher as the crystals are large hollow pyramids. Very nice pure taste but the crunch is amazing (for things that you want that for) as they don't dissolve very well.


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## cheflivengood (Jul 28, 2017)

Texture is extremely important and goes hand in hand with moisture content. I've worked in kitchens that if you weren't refrigerating and moist toweling your finishing salt you could get booted. 
Crapy salt also tastes saltier which sounds crazy, but try going from La Baleine sea salt to kosher and all the kosher salt dishes will be too salty (if you are used to memory pinching, im talking line cooking not at home when you have time to taste, adjust, taste) 

I don't know the brand, but there's this japanese salt that the sea water is run over 300 yards of bamboo in the filtration process and it tastes incredible.


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## Jacob_x (Jul 28, 2017)

For lactofermentation I use basic table salt or rock (kosher) salt, for everything from kimchis to gherkins to sauerkraut to umeboshi, and never had any problems at all. Finishing is another matter entirely though


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## WOK-a-holic (Jul 29, 2017)

Rob Sutherland, 
diamond crystal brand kosher salt looks exactly like your Balinese salt ,under 40x magnifying glass....just smaller


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