Monday, October 30, 2017

Your Ultimate Guide to Salt: When and Why to Use Each Kind

table salt, himalayan pink salt, kosher salt, sea salt, black salt

When you’re running around the grocery store after work, choosing the right type and brand of salt is probably the last thing on your mind, but this kitchen staple deserves a little more attention than you’d think. From kosher and Fleur de Sel to Himalayan pink, each variety is fundamentally the same but simultaneously different, and should be used in specific ways. There are dozens of intricate differences in salt, but I’ll focus on the four main varieties for the home cook: table salt, kosher salt, sea salt, and rock salt.

I’m currently reading Mark Kurlansky’s Salt: A World History, which lays out the complete history of human salt use and consumption, from the ancient Egyptians to the Chinese Han dynasty to the modern day. If you’re not dying to read an entire 450-page book on the stuff, you should know a few fundamental elements of salt. First of all, there are two main methods for gathering salt: mining it from salt deposits in the earth or harvesting it from evaporated saltwater. The natural evaporation method uses sunlight to produce varieties like classic Fleur de Sel, while the industrial steam heat method produces commercial table and kosher salts. Second, all salt is made of sodium chloride (NaCl), but the level of “saltiness” in the same measurement of each variety can be vastly different, and can make or break your recipe. Stick to these basic guidelines and you’ll up your cooking game dramatically.

Iodized Table Salt

The small, granular salt is the most ubiquitous form found at home and in restaurant salt-shakers (think of the Morton yellow-raincoat-and-umbrella girl). It’s basically pure sodium chloride, which is sprayed with iodine after it’s processed. This dates back to Depression times when iodine deficiency was actually a widespread thing and iodine was added to the salt like fluoride is to the water. Table salt can be useful for baking precise recipes (like this pumpkin spice cake with salted caramel), although honestly I avoid it altogether, since it’s more bland than kosher or sea salt and it contains metallic non-caking agents.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is a true cooking staple, especially in restaurant kitchens, where boxes of Diamond Crystal are king. If you’re not a frequent cook, you’ll probably recognize it from the rims of margarita glasses or the tops of ballpark pretzels. It’s big, flaky, and perfect for everyday recipes. Why is it called “kosher?” Salt companies in the late 1800s marketed this larger grained salt for salting meat, thereby “koshering” it, and the name “kosher” salt stuck even after its uses became more widespread.

However, there’s a bit of a debate around the use and production of kosher salt. For one, the two major brands (Diamond Crystal and Morton) have supposedly different tastes, with Morton’s tasting almost twice as salty as Diamond Crystal. Furthermore, kosher salt is actually highly processed, and its industrial production relies heavily on fossil fuels. Still, it’s a great multi-purpose option in the kitchen. When a recipe doesn’t clarify the type of salt, using Diamond Crystal kosher is your best bet.

Sea Salt

You can’t get any simpler or tastier than a good quality sea salt. It’s naturally extracted from—you guessed it—the sea, using the sun to evaporate the surrounding water. What you’re left with is a sustainably-produced batch of pure sea salt and trace minerals. It’s delicate, flavorful, and reliable for savory cooking, baking, and garnishing. There are a few main variations of sea salt, primarily including Celtic sea salt (also known as Sel Gris, or gray salt, which is harvested from tidal pools off the coast of France and has a moist texture and gray color) and Fleur de Sel (meaning “flower of salt,” which is skimmed off the tops of tidal pools in Brittany, France by hand, and is the most expensive kind of salt due to its labor cost, scarcity, and high mineral content). Perhaps the most popular brand of sea salt is Maldon Sea Salt, which is known for its irregular shaped flakes and bright flavor that is perfect for finishing dishes. Check out other variations like Hawaiian black and red salts, smoked sea salt, or flavored salts for a unique garnish.

Rock Salt

The most common type of rock salt is Himalayan pink salt, which comes from an ancient salt deposit in Pakistan and is known for its beautiful rosy hue. The color comes from minerals in the salt, like magnesium, calcium, and potassium, and is becoming a trend in the health world for its supposed purification powers (ever seen one of those bulbous pink salt lamps?). Whether or not it offers life-changing health benefits, it’s still delicious—but it’s best as a garnish or in imprecise recipes because of its chunky texture. (Fun fact: That gross salt poured on icy winter streets is another form of rock salt mined underground).



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What Is the Difference Between Honey and Agave?

honey and agave syrup

When it comes to sweeteners, white sugar tends to be considered the omnipresent enemy. Why? Simply, it’s high in calories and doesn’t offer any essential nutrients. As white sugar continues to be pushed aside in favor of other sweetener replacements, healthy-eating advocates consistently encourage healthier alternatives like honey and agave to add in everything from tea to baked goods. Despite their overt outward-looking similarities—like texture and color—the taste, health benefits, and derivation of each differ.

Honey is a naturally produced golden liquid, made by industrious honeybees. To make it, bees use their straw-shaped tongues to extract nectar from flowers, storing the nectar in their extra stomachs. Enzymes in the bees’ stomachs mix with the nectar, altering the chemical composition. Once the bees return to the hive, the nectar is given to another bee, who transfers it into a honeycomb. This nectar is particularly watery—not the honey you’d find on the shelf at the grocery store—but once a majority of the water has evaporated from the honeycomb, bees get to work sealing it, which ultimately hardens into beeswax.

honey bees on honeycomb

Pixabay

On the nutritional side, one tablespoon of honey is 64 calories, which is about 17 grams of sugar. While honey doesn’t boast any fat, it does contain antioxidants and minute amounts of minerals and vitamins, although you’d have to consume a lot of honey to ultimately receive those benefits. Other health benefits include reductions in blood pressure, lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels, and successful treatments for burns when applied to skin.

Unlike honey, agave isn’t created by bugs. Instead, the syrup is produced from blue agave, the same plant from which tequila is made. These blue agaves are large, spiky, round plants that resemble a combination between a pineapple and an aloe vera plant. Agave is produced when sap from the base of the plant is extracted, filtered, and heated at a low temperature, breaking down the carbohydrates into sugar. What results is a sticky and sweet syrup.

blue agave plant used for tequila and agave syrup

Shutterstock

Compared to honey, agave has about 60 calories per tablespoon, and it’s actually the sweetener preferred by diabetics. While it still contains plenty of sugar, agave has an inherently sweet flavor, so even if less is used, you’ll still manage to generate something sweet.

Although honey and agave are great replacements for white sugar in baking, they can also both be used in a myriad of savory dishes as well—not just in tea and breakfast bars. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with both, level up your cooking and baking game to generate flavors that aren’t just healthy, but taste great too.

Honey

Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and honey

Kevin Is Cooking

Brussels sprouts, a naturally bitter vegetable, get crisp and sweet when doused in honey and roasted in the oven. Get the recipe.

Honey Garlic Butter Salmon in Foil

honey garlic butter salmon foil pouch

Cafe Delites

Dress up your weeknight dinner with salmon that’s drenched in a honey butter sauce. Get the recipe.

Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies

honey lavender shortbread cookies

The Baker Upstairs

Pair these lavender-studded shortbread cookies, sweetened with honey, with a warm mug of tea or coffee. Get the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Honey Cake

chocolate chip honey cake with chocolate icing

A Treats Affair

This chocolate chip honey cake doesn’t have any added sugar; it gets its sweetness from ¾ cup of honey, plus a sprinkling of chocolate chips. Get the recipe.

Agave

Vegan Blueberry Oat Bars

vegan blueberry oat bars

Happy Healthy Mama

These healthy vegan breakfast bars boast agave to bring out the natural sweetness of the blueberries and applesauce. Get the recipe.

Vanilla Almond Agave Granola

vanilla almond agave granola

Katie’s Cucina

Spice up breakfast with this easy granola that only features four ingredients: agave, vanilla extract, quick cooking oats, and sliced almonds. Get the recipe.

Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing

carrot ginger dressing with agave

Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Instead of purchasing the ubiquitous store-bought salad dressing, opt for making your own, like this radiantly orange dressing featuring agave, carrots, ginger, and miso paste. Get the recipe.

Pineapple Strawberry Aqua Fresca

pineapple strawberry agua fresca with agave syrup

Joyful Healthy Eats

Agave shines as the kicker in this homemade and easy-to-make juice. Just blend pineapple chunks, strawberries, lime juice, and agave. Get the recipe.



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VeganSmart

VeganSmart’s plant-based nutritional shakes contain no diary, eggs, soy, artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, preservatives, cholesterol, acesulfame-K, MSG and zero trans-fat.

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Kimera Koffee

Filled with all natural amino acids, the blend of supplements supports consumer efforts to keep their bodies healthy while providing focus and clarity during workouts.

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Chinese Scientists Genetically Engineer Low-Fat Pigs

Chinese scientists have genetically engineered a naturally ‘low-fat’ pig. Apparently the hogs can more efficiently regulate their body temperature, easily burning fat during cold months. The end result is leaner meat. While the science behind it is fascinating, don’t count on a guilt-free pork rinds to hit supermarket shelves anytime soon. There are an awful lot of obstacles standing between bacon-lovers and this potential food.

Initially this scientific breakthrough has been praised as a win-win for farmers and consumers. After all, it would lower both the financial costs for raising pigs and the health risks for pork eaters seeking lower calorie alternatives. However, the chances of this meal option actually reaching the American market is slim, or at least unlikely in the near future. To give some perspective, it took the Food and Drug Administration nearly two decades to green light genetically-engineered Atlantic salmon, which is currently the only genetically-engineered animal approved for human consumption in the U.S.. So who knows if and when these piglets could ever make their way stateside?

And then there’s the matter of taste. Even if we had access to the low-fat pig, small hog farmers (who are also unlikely to reap the economic benefits that large-scale industrial farms would in terms of lowering their heating costs) claim the new GE pigs would make for terrible-tasting meat. Flavor, they argue, is a byproduct of fat. One farmer even likened the new GE pigs to “wet-tasting cardboard” in an interview with the Washington Post. What’s the point of eating “the other white meat” if it lacks the tender texture that makes it so beloved in the first place?

Thus, despite being a dieter’s dream, there are lots of reasons to remain skeptical. Maybe one day they’ll be available on grocery store freezers, perhaps when pigs fly?



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Four-Cheese Lasagna with Fresh Pasta

Four Cheese Lasagna

This is not your Aunt Mary’s lasagna—or one you’ve likely encountered from any family member! There’s no tomato sauce and no meat. Just fresh pasta sheets layered with four different kinds of delicious cheese.

This lasagna is golden with crispy-chewy edges on top and creamy insides in the middle. This makes a heavenly and decadent addition to a holiday table or midwinter feast.

Continue reading "Four-Cheese Lasagna with Fresh Pasta" »



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Kalsec: Beer Flavors

With the rapid expansion of craft beers and the desire of consumers to try new flavors in food and beverages, Kalsec® introduces a line of beer type flavors for food applications.

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South Beach Brewing Launches in Miami

Reality star and animal advocate, Prince Lorenzo Borghese, The Bachelor 2006 and Celebrity Big Brother UK 2012, launches South Beach Brewing Company.

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Pumpkin Layer Cake

Pumpkin Layer Cake
Made with plenty of egg yolks, spices, and pumpkin purée, this light and fluffy cake has all the depth and flavor of a classic pumpkin pie. A generous layer of tangy cream cheese buttercream offsets the hearty cake, while a scattering of toasted pecans adds a welcome dose of flavor and crunch. Get Recipe!


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Blake’s All Natural Foods Frozen Meals

The two new meals continue to build on the brand’s commitment to bringing consumers convenient, high-quality food with homemade flavor.

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