Kosher Salt Substitute

Kosher salt is one of the popular forms of edible salt. There are various other types of salt like sea salt, rock salt, Celtic salt, iodized salt and table salt. It is a common fact that salt flavor is one of the basic tastes and salt is one of the essential nutrients. Apart from imparting flavor to food items, salt has a number of other industrial and commercial uses. However, the most important usage of salt is for human consumption. Salt is obtained through mining of salt mines or by distillation of sea water. The raw salt, thus obtained are then refined and sometimes processed to form the different types of salt. Some types of salt are different, due to the place of its origin. For example, Celtic salt is produced from the waters of the Celtic Sea marshes in Brittany, France, through the method of solar evaporation.

In short, there are different types of salt, with slight variations in flavor and texture. While, some types of preferred for certain food recipes or method of cooking, others are not. So, if the recipe calls for a certain type of salt and you don't have it, then, you must have an understanding about its substitutes.

What is Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is one of the popular types of salt and is commonly used, nowadays. As compared to table salt, kosher salt has larger grain size, but, are usually sold as flakes, that have large surface area. Kosher salt can be derived from both sea water and salt mines. It has been observed that kosher salt has a mild, but, bright flavor. Usually, kosher salt is found to be free of additives. However, there are some brands of kosher salt, that have additives. The name kosher salt is derived from the use of this salt in the making of kosher foods, especially, kosher meat. With the large surface area, kosher salt sticks to the surface of the meat, thereby drawing out more liquids and blood from it. This method is called koshering and the salt got its name form this method. Now, we know that kosher salt is specially used in certain preparations. It may happen that you run out of kosher salt, but, need it urgently for preparing a food recipe. In such circumstances, you have to use kosher salt substitutes.

Kosher Salt Substitution

As kosher salt contains more coarser crystals, than the regular table salt, it is mainly used for lining margarita glasses, for making salt crust on fish and meat. It is also used for canning and pickling, but, make sure to add the salt by weight, rather than volume. However, kosher salt is not used for baking, unless the ingredients to be baked, has enough liquid content to dissolve this flaky salt. In short, kosher salt is used in various food recipes and in case, you run of this salt, you can use the below said kosher salt alternatives.

Kosher salt substitutes include pickling salt (very fine grains), margarita salt (coarse-grained) and table salt (small grains). You have to be careful, while using these substitutes, as the degree of saltiness may vary. If you want to use table salt as a substitute for kosher salt, then use half the amount of kosher salt requirement (in volume and not weight). Usually, 25% lesser than the kosher salt requirement is used. If the recipe needs one teaspoon of kosher salt, you can substitute it with ¾ teaspoon of table salt. As it is safer to start with smaller amounts, you may also use half teaspoon first and then, increase the measurement, as per your requirement. If you use sea salt (with large granules) or margarita salt, use the same amount or a little lesser of kosher salt requirement (in volume)..