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Questions tagged [salt]

Questions about the use of culinary salt in the kitchen.

Saltiness is one of the five basic flavors (along with sweet, sour, bitter, and umami). Therefore, salt is one of the most important ingredients in cooking, since it's the only way to achieve that flavor.

Use this tag for questions about using salt in any culinary application, or for other kitchen purposes (such as ).

348 questions
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What makes fleur de sel different from regular salt?

Fleur de sel is the salt from the top of the pot when you heat salted water. But what makes it different from the rest of the salt in the pot?
Daniel Moura
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Will hard boiled eggs absorb salt through the shell?

In this America's Test Kitchen video they add salt to the cold water when hard boiling eggs. Would the salt actually permeate the shell and flavor the egg? That seems unlikely to me and is just a waste of good salt. (Apart from the salt, that method…
Galapagos Jim
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What foods/preparations demonstrate the flavor difference between sea salt and table salt?

Related to What is the difference between sea salt and regular table salt? What can I prepare that will work really well for a side-by-side comparison to demonstrate the difference between sea salt and regular table salt? Obviously, tasting the…
Dennis Williamson
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4 answers

Substituting table salt or sea salt for kosher salt?

The roasted chicken recipe I'm following of course calls for kosher salt, but I don't have any, and getting some is out of the question. I have sea salt and table salt on hand. Can I substitute one of those instead, and if so, what is the proper…
Dolph
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What different uses do we assign to salted butter vs. unsalted butter?

What different uses do we assign to salted butter versus unsalted butter?
djangofan
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15
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6 answers

Why throw salt over a barbecue before cooking?

At a recent barbecue in Chile, I watched the chef throw large handfuls of salt over the charcoal a few minutes before placing on the meat. What would be the reason for this?
Ian Mackinnon
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14
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3 answers

What are some things to consider when choosing a salt?

What attributes are important when selecting salt for a dish? Specifically where you would use sea salt, kosher salt or plain table salt? I can often find sea salt (iodized and non-iodized) in places I cannot find kosher salt.
jhappoldt
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7 answers

How much salt should I add to a dish?

I find it hard to figure out how much salt to add to dishes. I'm always afraid I'll make it too salty. Recipes always call for salt to taste, but what does that mean? Is there a good rule of thumb?
papin
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14
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3 answers

Why do so many dessert/biscuit recipes have salt in them?

Whilst I can understand salt in the majority of recipes, I never really understood why it is in so many desserts or biscuits. When I have asked a few friends or family who do a lot of cookery, the vast majority say pretty much the same thing "the…
wilhil
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Rubbing eggplants in salt

I saw somewhere they rubbed sliced eggplants in salt and leaving them out up to an hour before putting them in the oven. From what I understood it had to do something with the eggplant's bitter taste... I want to cook sliced eggplants in the oven…
hizki
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14
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8 answers

Why add salt to potato water?

I add salt to pasta water in order to reduce the stickiness caused by starch. However, I've never seen potatoes stick together. Why add salt?
user4697
13
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4 answers

Alternative to salt when using Mortar and Pestle

For numerous reasons, I need to prepare the vast majority of food salt-free. Been doing this since the 80's, and now we are very sensitive to any added salt in our food. This extends to, for instance, salting the water for boiling pasta or…
kdopen
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How to dissolve salt into mashed potatoes

I am trying to find a way to mix salt into my mashed potatoes without having unpleasant bits of salt appear in each mouthful. I usually steam them with their skins-on, before mixing in salt, and vegan butter with a touch of truffle oil. I have…
user60513
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Baking beetroot in coffee crust

I've just read a blog post from Amass restaurant. I got very curious about roasting beetroot in coffee grounds as they said in the article. Looking a bit further, I've also found an article by Amass' chef, Matt Orlando, where he gave us a bit more…
illichosky
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What determines the 'saltiness' of salt?

I've bought two brands of salt that are completely different in terms of 'salt' concentration(not sure if this is the correct terminology). I realized this because I needed three or four times more teaspoons of one brand in order to match the…
Kang Min Yoo
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