Ingredients
What's the Difference Between Morton's and Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt?
Not all kosher salt is the same.
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95 Comments
JimSTX
May 23, 2023
I haven't bought Morton for years because of its anti-caking additives. I can't find DC in Texas, so I've been using the local supermarket chain's additive-free "coarse" kosher salt (imported from Sicily). I like its large crystals for sprinkling -- though I'll occasionally find a box that's got small crystals, forcing me to recalibrate. How can I find information comparable to the DC/Morton comparison about other salt brands?
Sfouch
April 25, 2023
While I appreciate all the fine points of salt (and I just use French sea salt), I’m bothered that this first world discussion is obscuring the food insecurity that many Americans, and most citizens of the wider world, experience every day. I think we need some perspective here.
Charles
May 24, 2023
Spare us your moral indignation. This is a cooking site and the article is about salt.
Tatiana
April 25, 2023
I grew up in the 6o's. All we ever used was Morton's table salt. The fine stuff. I'm not sure when koshering salt came into play with cooking, but I learned how to cook from my grandmother who came to the U.S. in 1908 and my mother and all that was used was Morton's. So for me it's either Morton's or a fine grained sea salt that I learned to use while being in France. I usually either salt to taste or weigh my salt along with all the other ingredients.
[email protected]
April 25, 2023
I'd tried Morton's by accident--got it in a food box and loved it. Didn't even know about Diamond Crystal until I read about it on this site. Promptly bought some and was disappointed because for my taste it lacks texture and is far less salty. This article helps explain the why of that so I will experiment further with the DC, but the go-to will likely remain Morton's.
Julie S.
April 25, 2023
We only use Diamond Crystal for cooking and baking…on the table we have Maldon flake salt, Maldon smoked salt and Fleur de sel de Camargue
cshell123
July 25, 2022
I think Diamond Crystal salt is a really good product. Cargill is destroying the brand. If they don't want to keep this brand alive, they should sell it. I hate these people...
cshell123
July 23, 2023
As a country, we often don't execute well. If you are a big company, and your execution is terrible, it's ok to call you out for this. I've had 2 careers, and in both you had to deliver what you promised. I think this is a valid way to live. Here's a pun, If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen....
MacGuffin
July 23, 2023
I think "calling out" a company, THAT PRODUCES TABLE SALT, by saying "I hate these people..." is bizarre. And this may come as a surprise to you but I'd be willing to hazard a guess that most of the people posting here have had a least one career that involved delivering what was promised, so you're hardly unique (again, that lack of perspective).
Katy C.
May 23, 2022
I've used Morton's Kosher Salt forever since I didn't even know about Diamond Crystal until I read Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. I've looked for it, but my grocery store doesn't carry it. I'm going to order some from Amazon, though, because I'm interested to try it, especially in the SFAH recipes I've tried. I probably oversalted the heck out of chicken since I put as much as she said (like make it snow salt!), but used Morton's.
Lynn D.
March 25, 2022
I will ONLY use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. It can be very hard to find in Arizona but when I find it, I buy three boxes! I am on my last box so the search is on! I know I can order it on Amazon but it's annoying to pay 3x the price.
phip
January 3, 2022
Diamond is very hard to find in California. It would be interesting if the author contacted the company to ask why distribution is such a problem.
Debbie S.
January 7, 2022
I live in Southern California and after ordering Diamond Crystal on Amazon I spotted it on a shelf with other Holiday baking supplies at Whole Foods last month. Of course they are the same company now.
Heather Z.
December 24, 2021
This is why recipes need to include weights for ingredients, most especially salt. I picked up loads of Diamond Crystal at a local grocery store when they were being cleared out for some reason. I bought all they had. :D But, I also love using Mediterranean sea salt for some things, and absolutely love my Himalayan pink salt. I use that for everything, and really love if for pickling.
Katy C.
May 23, 2022
Yes! The Himalayan Pink salt is excellent for finishing on vegetables. Something about it is just different from putting on regular kosher salt.
LeslieDR
December 23, 2021
Only Diamond! Even making the adjustment, I simply can’t tolerate Morton’s. Way too salty.
Kate's K.
December 22, 2021
I recently found a box of Diamond Crystal at a Penzey’s retail store. Since I can’t find it anywhere else either I bought it.
BookBitch
December 22, 2021
I got DC for years at Costco, or in a pinch, the small box at Publix. Neither carries it anymore; both only stock Morton's. According to the DC website, there is no one carrying their kosher salt anywhere in South Florida and frankly, I refuse to buy it for three times the price from Amazon. Has anyone tried Whole Foods 365 kosher salt? Curious how it stacks up against these two. Thanks!
Dina
December 1, 2021
One of the reasons readers may 'prefer' Morton's is because Diamond Crystal salt is damn hard to find!!! I had to google for resources here outside of Philadelphia and found it at Acme. Giant is the major chain out here in Chester County, so of course I could not find it.
MacGuffin
July 23, 2023
On the other hand, there just might be readers who "may prefer Morton" because they actually like it more than the alternatives. Mind you, I have no skin in this game--I buy David's.
Licia
October 31, 2021
I respectfully disagree with SaltySweet on her comment that all salts are equal once they are dissolved.. There is a difference in intensity between different salts, some have an almost citrusy taste, others a more peppery taste and each cook can find the salt that accommodates most her personal taste. The soil and environment is also important, just like the provenance of spices varies according to the way they are cultivated, harvested, dried and packed. Not all salts are the same by weight and it is not just a matter of the salt crystals. Some salts are meant for sprinkling cooked foods before serving because of the way they impact your tongue and some dissolve like snowflakes whereas others remain crystal hard. I think experimentation is the best way to pick and choose which types of salts accommodate your cooking the best, and you might be surprised to have a few different favorites for each application.
SaltySweet
October 31, 2021
This article seems ridiculous to me. What this boils down to is a failure to measure ingredients in a consistent way. If you are trying to measure dry ingredients by volume, you will always have inconsistent results. Would you try to buy a gallon of apples at the store? No, we buy apples by weight because the air spaces between the apples and the different ways they can be packed into a given space would lead to inconsistencies in measurement. The same thing is occurring with salt crystals, but it's just easier for you to see with apples because they're larger.
Regardless of what brand of salt you use, regardless of what shape the crystals are, they will always have air spaces between them and they will settle/pack to varying degrees. It's unavoidable. This is why the proper way to measure dry ingredients is to weigh them. The weight (or mass) of an ingredient doesn't change depending on air pockets. 6 grams of salt is 6 grams of salt, regardless of the shapes of the crystals or how much they have settled.
But additionally: Once you dissolve PURE salt in water or a liquid, it doesn't matter what shape the crystals were beforehand -- whether "table salt" or "kosher salt" -- because it's all the same when it's dissolved. Some people claim that they can taste the iodine in iodized table salt, but in that case, use plain, non-iodized table salt -- 100% pure sodium chloride. Outside of iodization, which you can avoid by using plain salt, I see no possible reason why dissolved table salt would taste or behave any differently than dissolved kosher salt. The only difference between them is the texture in cases when they are sprinkled on food without being dissolved, and differences in packing when it comes to measuring their volumes -- but you should be weighing your ingredients anyway!
Regardless of what brand of salt you use, regardless of what shape the crystals are, they will always have air spaces between them and they will settle/pack to varying degrees. It's unavoidable. This is why the proper way to measure dry ingredients is to weigh them. The weight (or mass) of an ingredient doesn't change depending on air pockets. 6 grams of salt is 6 grams of salt, regardless of the shapes of the crystals or how much they have settled.
But additionally: Once you dissolve PURE salt in water or a liquid, it doesn't matter what shape the crystals were beforehand -- whether "table salt" or "kosher salt" -- because it's all the same when it's dissolved. Some people claim that they can taste the iodine in iodized table salt, but in that case, use plain, non-iodized table salt -- 100% pure sodium chloride. Outside of iodization, which you can avoid by using plain salt, I see no possible reason why dissolved table salt would taste or behave any differently than dissolved kosher salt. The only difference between them is the texture in cases when they are sprinkled on food without being dissolved, and differences in packing when it comes to measuring their volumes -- but you should be weighing your ingredients anyway!
MacGuffin
March 15, 2022
I just measured out a half-teaspoon of Maldon salt, which turned out to weigh 1.22g (yes, this scale provides 100ths). It took more effort than I wanted to expend to get EXACTLY 1g, assuming a recipe that calls for it. A more powdery ingredient is going to involve more of it sticking to my fingers as I attempt to get EXACTLY what's called for. Weighing larger amounts (in the units of your choice, U.S. avoirdupois is fine) is a great idea if one wants super consistency and is especially useful for stuff like "firmly packed" brown sugar, but I'm respectfully requesting that you please suggest, rather than lecture on, what we "should" be doing, especially since it involves investment in an additional piece of equipment that some readers might not be able to budget for.
Dale W.
March 15, 2021
I started using Morton's when I was doing some home canning, and I bought it because it was the cheaper brand. And for home canning, and for dry brining a turkey, it's perfectly good. But I've acquired a stack of Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, and I've learned the hard way that when she calls for kosher salt, she's talking about Diamond Crystal, and if I use the same amount of Morton's kosher salt, things are going to be too salty, because her measurements are based on Diamond Crystal.
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