These Are the Best Types of Salt You Should Cook With

Remember when there was only one type of salt?

Salt was salt. Period.

Not anymore. Salt has evolved to being much more than the pantry-staple, dark blue container with an image of a girl carrying an umbrella in the rain.

Indeed, salt has become a sophisticated seasoning with specific uses and nuanced flavors, sometimes even offering a smattering of trace minerals depending on the type.

Here’s a general overview of the most popular salts to eat and cook with – and what potential health benefits some types may offer.

The Many Types of Salt

Salt provides both flavor to food and sodium for life. That’s right, we need it to live.

It’s easy to forget that we need at least 500 mg of sodium daily for vital functions in our body such as maintaining homeostasis of body fluids and healthy functioning of our muscles and nerves.

Here are several flavorful types of salt that can dazzle your palate while fortifying your body!

5 of the Best Types of Salt You Should Cook With and Why

1. Table Salt

Table salt, also called refined salt, is what you find in the saltshaker at restaurants and what most kitchens have in the pantry.

Extracted from underground salt deposits, table salt is heavily processed to remove impurities, which can also remove trace minerals. It’s then finely ground and may have anti-caking agents, such as calcium silicate, added to it to prevent clumping.

In the U.S., iodine is often added to salt as a preventive measure against health problems caused by iodine deficiency such as thyroid health issues. Stabilizers such as dextrose (a type of sugar) may also be added in nutritionally negligible amounts to keep potassium iodide from oxidizing and evaporating. Some people find that the iodine gives salt a bitter taste. Today, you can find table salt without iodine if that’s your preference.

When it comes to cooking, don’t knock table salt! It has some important qualities that make it indispensable.

The crystals of table salt are so fine that they can easily be compacted and measured precisely. They also distribute evenly in flour, making it ideal for baking. Table salt also dissolves easily in wet ingredients, which lends well for sauces, soups, and salad dressings.

2. Sea Salt

Sea salt comes from evaporated sea water. It’s a light tasting salt and may contain very tiny amounts of up to 60 different trace minerals that are important micronutrients for health. It usually doesn’t have fillers.

Sea salt can be coarse, fine, or flaky. Its color can change depending on where it comes from and which minerals it contains.

Fine sea salt can be used in your saltshaker like table salt. It’s fast-absorbing, making it great for baked goods or sauces, dressings, marinades, and soups. Fine sea salt works well for rubs and spice blends – and is ideal for pasta water, brining, or other applications where large amounts of salt are used.

Coarse sea salt can be useful when salting meats in advance of cooking. However, extra-coarse sea salt is best used as a finishing salt.

Flaky salt is delicate and wonderful to pinch and sprinkle over a variety of foods as a finishing salt, offering a light salty flavor and crunchy texture.

When looking for a quality sea salt, you may want to choose any of the following brands as they are some of the tastiest and most popular “gourmet” salts:

• Celtic sea salt, also called “sel gris” (gray salt), is colored naturally by trace levels of magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc and iron. Some believe it’s one of the healthiest salts due its trace minerals (but there’s no scientific evidence that suggests this). Celtic salt is gathered from coastlines after sea water has evaporated. While it was originally only sourced from the Celtic Seas near northwestern France, it’s now sourced from other coastlines, too. It’s a coarse salt best used for finishing, but it can be used for cooking too.
• Fleur de Sel is a flaky sea salt sourced on the coast of Brittany, France. It’s harvested from the top of saltwater ponds. With large, flat flakes, this is a finishing salt the provides a mild salty flavor and crunchy texture. Sprinkle it on salads, baked goods, and other foods for its visual appeal and texture.
• Maldon salt is a flaky salt made from seawater in Essex County, England, where it has been hand-harvested since 1882 using traditional methods. It’s a favorite among chefs and is known for its pyramid shape and crunchy, soft texture. It’s a luxurious finishing salt.

3. Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is a coarse, flaky salt. Although refined, it doesn’t typically contain the additives like anti-caking agents and iodine that you find in table salt, and so some prefer its flavor.

The kosher name isn’t so much a reference to Jewish culinary standards as it is for its effectiveness in preparing or “koshering” meat for consumption. Its larger grains draw out moisture from meat faster. So it’s a koshering salt rather than a Kosher salt.

The large, flaky texture makes it perfect for pinching and sprinkling on meat and vegetables before cooking. It’s frequently used to salt the glass of a margarita. It can also be used for every type of cooking except baking. Just remember it has less sodium content than table salt so you may need more of it to achieve the same level of saltiness.

4. Himalayan Pink Salt

The beautiful peachy-pink color of Himalayan pink salt comes from its iron oxide. An unrefined salt, it’s most often sourced from a mine in Khwera, Pakistan, but can also come from Maras, Peru, in the Andes. The Andean version is slightly paler in color.

Himalayan salt is generally used as a finishing salt due to its crunchier texture. Some believe it’s healthier than regular salt because it’s unrefined and has trace minerals. One study, alarmingly, found trace amounts of lead in Andean Himalayan pink salt, so you may want to check that you get the Pakistan-sourced version!

5. Black Salt

Black salt, also known as Kala Namak or Himalayan black salt, is used in Indian cuisine and is pinkish brown in color. It comes from the salt mines of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other areas of the Himalayas. It’s made up of sulfur compounds, which help give it a unique smell and taste.

Interestingly, black salt was first used in Ayurvedic medicine for its therapeutic properties. It has antioxidant properties, lower sodium levels, and also contains important minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium in trace amounts.

Black salt is thought to stimulate bile production in the liver, which may help to minimize heartburn and bloating. When consumed in moderation, it may also have positive effects on blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Its potassium content may potentially help relax muscle spasms too.

There’s another black salt called black lava salt or Hawaiian black salt, as it usually comes from Hawaii. This salt truly is black. It has a unique, earthy flavor making it great for dishes calling for a smoky flavor. It’s best used as a finishing salt.

Salt to Taste

It seems new versions of seasoned and smoked salts come out every day. You can find celery salt, garlic salt, onion salt, and a variety of smoked salts at specialty stores. They usually have the sodium content of table salt. Experiment as you wish!

But remember to enjoy salt in moderation. Too much sodium in the diet is a problem. It can lead to unhealthy blood pressure levels, heart health issues, and increased risk of stroke, as well as calcium loss. The FDA reports Americans typically exceed the recommended daily limit of sodium for adults (2,300 mg, equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of table salt or less). For those on salt-restricted diet, check out salt substitutes made with potassium and other minerals.

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Meet the Author

Kim Henderson, Writer

Kim Henderson has been writing about health, beauty, wellness and the environment for more than 15 years. She’s the author of the award-winning book 50 Simple Steps to Save the World’s Rainforests and the former editor of Healthy Living magazine. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from UCLA.