Salting, kosher salt, sea salt, table salt

I want to start using kosher and sea salt exclusively in my cooking. Is there a ration for converting the quantities in my recipes?

Posted by: Nancy
January 30, 2014

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11 Comments

11 Comments

Pegeen February 2, 2014

Good Food52 article, "10 Salts to Know"
https://food52.com/blog/3377-10-salts-to-know

Pegeen February 2, 2014

Here's an excerpt from a Smitten Kitchen article on Diamond vs Morton comparison in dry measure vs weight. http://smittenkitchen.com/tips/not-all-salts-are-created-equally/

"So how to adjust for this in recipes where one is measuring salt by volume? A cup of Morton’s salt can weigh almost twice as much as a cup of Diamond’s salt, and therefore taste twice as salty. The intrepid Jill Santopietro at Chow.com came up with the following equation simply by weighing the salts:"

1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt =
roughly 1 1/4 teaspoons Morton’s kosher salt =
roughly 1 3/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Nancy February 2, 2014

Thanks; this will give me a good starting point when I am baking. I appreciate your help. I enjoyed the article below when I first starting looking into mineral salts, which was what got me experimenting in the first place. The differences they create in some of my dishes have been really intriguing and enjoyable. Between that, and some of the health benefits of using the more natural salts, I am sold! Thank you again.

Linn February 2, 2014

Weight is the most reliable method. I found a little digital scale that let's me measure to the gram / fraction of an ounce. Most of the time I take the easy out and salt to taste.

ATG117 February 1, 2014

I meant, diamond kosher salt***

Nancy February 1, 2014

Why have you chosen to use this particular salt almost exclusively?

ATG117 January 31, 2014

I almost exclusively use morton kosher salt and never salt according to recipe instructions. I honestly think the way to become a good salter and thus better cook is to salt to taste. Taste frequently throughout the cooking process, salt every layer, and then make sure you taste a last time before serving at the temp you'll be serving the dish at.

pierino February 1, 2014

For me it's entirely tactile. I don't measure salt except when baking. As ATG recommends continue to taste as you progress through.

Nancy February 1, 2014

Yes, I always adjust seasonings, particularly at the end just before serving. I was looking for a jumping off point, I guess. I have noticed that I seem to need more of the kosher, and even more of the sea salts I have tried. I am not terribly worried about most savories. I am more concerned that I know what I am doing for baked goods, where an adjustment after the fact is not really an option. Could you recommend a starting point? It wold seem from the previous answer that perhaps I shpould stick with kosher salt for baking, since there is so much variation in sea salts. I am thinking the comparisons of weights of the same unit is helpful, but there is also a difference in surface area of the granules and in the amount they would actually dissolve to be considered.

Nancy January 30, 2014

Thank you, that is very helpful.

sfmiller January 30, 2014

There's no one conversion ratio, since there is variation among the grain sizes of different brands of kosher salt and different types and grinds of sea salts.

The most accurate way to compare them is by weighing. For example, a cup of Morton kosher salt weighs about 8 ounces, whereas a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt weights about 5 ounces and a cup table salt weighs about 10 ounces.

So, for each volumetric unit (teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, whatever) of table salt, use 1 1/4 units of Morton or 2 units of Diamond Crystal.

Sea salts come in so many types and grinds it's impossible to generalize.

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Salting, kosher salt, sea salt, table salt

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