Learn how and when to salt foods properly during cooking to enhance natural flavors and make a perfectly seasoned dish.
Know Your Salt Varieties
Learning to salt your food correctly as you are preparing it is probably one of the most important cooking skills you can develop and understanding the differences between the various types of salt can be a big help. Here’s a brief guide to the most common varieties.
Table Salt
Table salt is the most common salt variety, and since it is a practical choice for baking and cooking, you’ll find it in just about every household. Table salt comes from salt mines, has very fine crystals, and commonly has iodine added for nutritional value (iodized).
Kosher Salt
Kosher salt is the top choice of professional chefs because of its coarse grain. It is easy to grab a “pinch” and control the quantity when adjusting the seasoning in a dish. Like table salt, it comes from mines and is called kosher, not because it conforms to the dietary laws of the Jewish religion (just about all salt is kosher), but because its texture is optimal for the “koshering” of meat.
Both table and kosher salt are composed of pure sodium chloride with the controlled addition of an anti-caking substance and possibly iodine as mentioned earlier.
Sea Salt
Sea salts differ from table and kosher salt in that they are obtained from evaporated seawater. In addition to sodium chloride, sea salts contain various trace elements that are inherent to the seawater in the area they come from.
Sea salts are often used as what we call finishing salts because they are flaky, dissolve easily, and adhere well to most foods. It’s also interesting to note that different varieties have subtle differences in flavor. Once you taste a few varieties, you may decide to keep several on hand for different applications.
The best known of all sea salts are sel gris and fleur de sel, both from the Brittany region of France. Sel Gris is composed of heavier crystals that have acquired the gray hue of the earth at the bottom of the salt ponds where the evaporation process takes place. The lighter crystals that float to the surface of the salt ponds are skimmed off and dubbed Fleur de Sel.
Other common varieties of sea salt are Maldon, Hawaiian “Red,” and Trapani. Maldon, produced on the east coast of England, is a mild salt with a distinctive texture. Hawaiian “Red” salt is a mellow-tasting salt that contains natural trace minerals and electrolytes from a type of Hawaiian clay called Alaea. Trapani salt, harvested from the Mediterranean on the northwest coast of Sicily, is a balanced variety with a relatively low percentage of sodium chloride.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt is in a class by itself. Painstakingly mined from deep within the Himalayan Mountains, these salt deposits were created hundreds of millions of years ago during the formation of the mountain range.
Himalayan Pink Salt is among the purest and healthiest of salts, containing dozens of trace elements and minerals including magnesium, calcium, potassium, copper and the iron that passes on its delicate pink hue. In addition to its beautiful appearance and notable health benefits, Himalayan salt has a distinctive subtle flavor that makes it a winning choice as a finishing salt.
How to Salt Your Food
The reason for salting foods is to intensify, develop, blend, and balance flavors, which is why salt should be added in small quantities throughout the cooking process. It’s a powerful flavor enhancer, but it takes a little time to work its magic, so salting your food during the various stages of preparation is the key to great taste.
As mentioned above, kosher salt is the best choice for use during cooking because it’s easy to control the quantity, it adheres to food well, and it dissolves fairly easily. You should keep your salt handy while cooking so you can easily add a pinch here and there. You can get yourself a special container like a salt pig or wooden saltbox, or just dish some up in a small prep bowl and store it near the stove.
If you have artisanal salts on hand, reserve them for use as a finishing element so that their individual flavor profiles are not lost in the cooking process.
When to Add Salt to Your Foods During Cooking
Here are a few guidelines for salting common foods:
- Add salt to meat, fish, and poultry just before you are ready to cook it for maximum flavor enhancement. Some believe that salting meats prior to cooking draws out the juices and produces a dry end result, but this is simply not true. What salting meats too far in advance of cooking can do, however, is inhibit browning.
- When making a sauce, add a pinch of salt to ingredients like garlic and onions while sautéing, add your liquids and salt again. Finish cooking, taste, and adjust the salt once more if necessary. It may sound like you’d be using too much salt this way, but surprisingly, if you work in stages you will most likely end up using less salt because the flavors of your ingredients will develop more fully.
- When blanching or boiling vegetables, salt the water prior to cooking. If you are steaming your veggies, salt immediately after cooking. Roasted and grilled vegetables should be salted prior to cooking. Raw vegetables should be salted just before serving.
- For a simple vinaigrette, add the salt to the vinegar and dissolve before adding the oil, then add a pinch more salt to your greens and toss, prior to dressing.
- For homemade stock, add salt to your flavoring ingredients during the sautéing or roasting stages – not to the liquid. Once the stock is finished, taste and adjust the salt accordingly.
- When cooking pasta or boiling potatoes, always salt your water before adding the food.
Proper Salting Proportions
- For soups, stocks, sauces, and gravies: 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt per quart. If using table salt, cut back to 1-1/8 teaspoons per quart.
- For raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood: 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. If using table salt, cut back to 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons per pound.
- For salting pasta water, add 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon table salt) for each quart of water. The general rule of thumb for water quantity is 4 quarts per pound of pasta (4 teaspoons of Kosher salt).
Important note: These proportions don’t apply when using pre-prepared ingredients like store-bought broth, sauces, or seasoned meats.
Perfect seasoning is the key to great food and it helps to think of salt as a tool to help you bring the natural flavors of your ingredients to the foreground. Give the process a bit of thought and with a little practice, seasoning like a pro should become second nature. And, for an extra layer of flavor, consider giving our homemade all-purpose seasoning blend a try.
Karen L. Sweeney says
Thank you for sharing this information. However, I happen to over salt as I do each layer. Ugh.
Do you have a general rule of thumb for salting say a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes or plum or puree tomatoes?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Karen,
If you find you are over-salting when you season in layers it may be because the cook time between those saltings is not long enough for your flavors to develop fully. That’s just the nature of some recipes, not a failing on your part. The trick is to know when that possibility exists. Sometimes, when you taste food immediately after seasoning you won’t be able to detect the full effect. Be a little more conservative because as I’m sure you’ve learned, you can always add more seasoning, but you can’t take it away once it’s there. When it comes to seasoning crushed tomatoes or puree, it really depends on what you’re going to be cooking with it because tomato products (unless you buy salt-free) already have a fair amount of salt in them. Here’s an example: I often make a quick marinara sauce by first sautéing onion and garlic in olive oil, then adding chopped tomatoes. I lightly season my onion with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and few grinds of black pepper. Then I add the garlic, sauté until fragrant, and add a 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes. I reduce the heat and simmer on low for about 15 minutes before tasting for additional seasoning. If however, I plan to cook Italian sausage in that sauce, I add no salt at all until I see what it tastes like after the sausage is fully cooked. Of course this is just one example. If you get back to me with something more specific, I’ll be happy to weigh in further. Hope this helps a little.
Ramón says
Great article for newbies like myself. I’m still scare of salt more better informed thanks to this.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Ramón,
If you’re worried about adding too much salt to your cooking, just be conservative and start with a pinch and taste. You can always add more but you can’t take it away.
ken says
what’s the salt conversion to miligrams. when making something like a soup or a stew we often use liquid seasoning that already has salt in it which should probably taken into consideration. for instance soy sauce and fish sauce
AENewman says
How does the Sea salt portion compare to kosher?
Lynne Webb says
Hi there,
Sea salt is minimally processed and therefore a softer, flakier product that is less consistent in terms of the size of the grains. When you want your salt measurement to be accurate for something like pasta water, it’s best to stick with kosher salt. However, when you are seasoning a dish to taste during cooking or sprinkling salt on a steak before grilling, the two are more or less interchangeable. A benefit of sea salt is that it can be used as a finishing salt, whereas kosher salt is not a good choice for that.
Jackie Owens says
IN THESE TWO SUGGESTIONS, DO YOU MEAN TABLE SALT OR KOSHER, OR DOESN’T IT MATTER?
For soups, stocks, sauces, and gravies: 1-1/2 teaspoons salt per quart.
For raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood: 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt per pound.
Thanks.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Jackie,
That’s a great question. Those quantities are for Kosher salt and I’ve updated the post as follows:
– For soups, stocks, sauces, and gravies: 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt per quart. If using table salt, cut back to 1-1/8 teaspoons per quart.
– For raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood: 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. If using table salt, cut back to 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons per pound.
Imran Ajaz says
Hi Lynne, thanks so much. These tips really help a lot.
Need 1 clarification, as mentioned that for raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood: 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. If using table salt, cut back to 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons per pound.
Does the amount of water used to submerge make any difference? Do we use 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound, regardless of the amount?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Imran,
I’m not quite sure what you’re asking. If you’re using water, are you making soup stock?
Zain Khandwala says
Very helpful post! Is there a rule of thumb for how much salt to add to boiling water for cooking pasta, rice, or veggies? Thanks.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Zain,
Here are the standard guidelines for salting your pasta water: Use 1 quart of water and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt for every 4 ounces (1/4 lb) of pasta you are cooking. The same rules apply for boiling veggies and rice. I do cut back on the salt a little if I’m going to adding other salty ingredients (e.g. bacon, sausage, anchovies, olives) to whatever dish I’m making.
Suman says
How about veggies? Soft veggies versus root vegetables?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Suman,
The post has guidelines for when to salt your vegetables, but for the most part, the quantity of salt you use is subjective. If you are boiling or steaming vegetables, add enough salt to the water to make it taste noticeably salty. For roasted vegetables, lightly salt the cut surfaces prior to cooking. For sautéing and stir-frying, salt lightly to start. You can always add more salt once your veggies are cooked, but can’t take it away if you add too much at the outset.
Norm Ness says
You say 1 tsp coarse salt per pound…
Are you referring to EACH side, or the whole steak?
N
Lynne Webb says
Hi Norm,
The recommendation is 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat total. In other words, if you have two steaks, each weighing 1/2 lb, divide the 3/4 teaspoon of salt between both sides of both steaks. I say 3/4 teaspoon because when salting the outside of a piece of meat, you probably would want to use the smaller quantity.
Cinnamon Vogue says
Thank you for this brilliant article on Salt. Came here looking for a formula on how much salt to use for one of our recipes. Was under the impression that salting before made the meat hard but not necessarily dry. Not sure how you feel about that. My personal feeling is to use Iodized salt for daily use and Kosher or Sea salt for special recipes. Because you do need iodine.
sue says
Finally, a rule of thumb for how much salt to use, instead of “salt to taste”!
Thanks.
Cindy says
Good basic information – thanks.