Pickling Salt

Pickling salt is nothing but a type of salt, specifically used for canning and pickling. This salt is usually pure, with no additive unlike the regular table salt. Pickling or canning salt does not contain iodine and anti-caking products, which makes it especially ideal for canning and making pickles. This salt is usually very fine-grained and this is the reason why it gets easily dissolved in water to give a clear brine. However, when exposed to moisture, this salt tends to cake or form clumps, as it does not contain any anti-caking agent.

Uses of Pickling Salt

Apart from being widely used for pickling and canning, it can be used for other purposes as well. It can be used in the same way the ordinary salt is used. This salt can especially work well for baking, as well as for seasoning foods like, popcorn and French fries. However, the main disadvantage of this salt is the formation of clumps when the salt comes in contact with moisture. Another point to be kept in mind is tha it cannot provide iodine, the deficiency of which may manifest in thyroid problems. However, if your diet includes lots of seafood, then inclusion of iodized salt may not be a necessity.

Pickling Salt Substitutes

Kosher salt can be used as its substitute, without compromising the look of the pickles. Regular table salt can also be used as a pickling or canning salt substitute, though the pickles would not look very appetizing. While using kosher salt as a substitute for pickling or canning salt, be sure to use more of it, as kosher salt is not as compact or dense as this salt. Otherwise, you can just grind the kosher salt in a grinder to make it more compact, just like the canning salt.

Regular Salt
Regular table salt can also be used for pickling. In general, there will not be any difference in the taste of the pickles made with regular salt, than those prepared with pickling or canning salt. Even from the point of view of food safety, there are no difference between pickled foods made with these two types of salt. However, the pickles made with regular salt tend to become dark, due to the presence of iodine. Moreover, the brine or the pickling liquid would also become cloudy, mainly due to the presence of anti-caking additives, which do not dissolve completely. This is the reason why, pickling salt is preferred over the regular salt for canning.

Kosher Salt
Being another type of pure salt, kosher salt was originally developed for the preparation of kosher meats. Like pickling salt, kosher salt does not contain iodine or anti-caking additives. Sometimes, certain brands of kosher salt may contain yellow prussiate of soda, as an anti-caking additive. But, this anti-caking agent is not likely to cause the pickling liquid to turn cloudy. However, kosher salt is coarse and flaky, as compared to pickling or canning salt. Again, the kosher salt dissolves quite slowly than pickling or canning salt, mainly due to its flaky and irregular shape. Apart from making pickles, kosher salt can be used to preseason meat.

In addition to kosher and regular salt, alum can also be used for pickling. Alum is a salt, which is produced, when an alkaline metal reacts with a trivalent metals like aluminum and iron. However, one should be very careful while using alum pickling salt, as in large quantities it can be toxic. Therefore, it is always better to use pickling, regular or kosher salt for making pickles. As mentioned already, canning salt can be used much in the same way, we use the table salt. The main disadvantage of pickling salt is caking, which can be prevented by adding a few grains of rice in the container, where this salt is stored. Another way is to bake the salt in an oven, in order to draw out moisture from it.