Hi lovely bakers!

I thought we could look at types of salt for today’s baking basics. I know salt might not be the most exciting topics but it sure is tasty… I mean important. The type of salt or the amount of salt in a recipe really makes a difference.

Let’s take a look at the different kinds of salts out there to use.

Sea Salt

Sea Salt comes in two forms; coarse and fine grains. You make sea salt by evaporating seawater. Where it comes from really makes a big difference. Each region will have different minerals and will give the sea salt a different flavor.

Kosher Salt

The salt comes from seawater or the earth and it’s made without additives. Since it doesn’t dissolve easily, it’s used a lot on of different loaves of bread. It’s a great way to “finish products”.

Most people will know that it gets its name from its use in how meat is prepared according to the rules of Jewish dietary guidelines.

Rock Salt

This is mainly used in making ice cream. To be specific mainly for old fashion ice cream. It’s pretty large salt crystals and they usually have a greyish color.

Table Salt

This is the kind of salt that most people will have in their kitchen and it’s probably what most people think of when they think of salt. It’s super “refined salt mined from underground salt deposits”. Did you know Table Salt has 97 to 99 percent more sodium chloride than sea salt does? I thought that was interesting when I read that.

Exotic Salts

These salts tend to be more decorative. They have been used the “finish” an item. Bakers will sprinkle them over items to make the item look more decorative. You could really sparkle up a dish with it.

• Himalayan Salt – It comes in white, pink and red. Some people say it’s one of the purest salt you can find.

• Celtic Sea Salt – After salt crystals have sunk to the bottom of ponds, it can be racked up. That’s why they call it Celtic Sea Salt. It’s a coarse sea salt. You can use it in baking or to finish a recipe, it is “moist, granular and chunky”.

Salts also come in different flavors like lemon, herb, and vanilla. Who would have thought that little ingredient that you should cut down on can improve a dish so much? Salt used properly can really improve a dish.

Happy baking everyone!