Beyond sea salt: A beginner’s guide to gourmet salts

You should feel bad for salt.

The flavourful little grains have been given an unfair and rather unsavoury reputation over the past decade or two, with health guidelines advising us to cut it out of our diet for fear of high blood pressure and other life-threatening conditions.

But straight-up salt is rarely the culprit for our over-consumption of sodium. Rather, it comes from the mountains of processed foods those eating the Standard North American Diet consume daily, where salt is used as a preservative and flavour enhancer to otherwise bland canned and frozen goods.

In fact, salt on its own is vital to your survival -- it's an electrolyte necessary for energy and transporting nutrients, and it helps your body retain water for use rather than flushing it out. In addition to this, certain unprocessed varieties of salt contain vital minerals, such as magnesium and potassium.

By now, you've probably (hopefully) ditched plain old table salt from your salt shaker in favour of more flavourful, unprocessed sea salt, but there's a whole world of salts out there to discover. Here's the low-down on all the salts you need to know:

Table salt: This is your average salt shaker grind, and if you ask us, it doesn't really deserve a place in your kitchen. It's sourced from salt mines and is heavily processed to remove minerals and sediment, resulting in a bitter, harsh-tasting grain with few health benefits. Table salt most often has iodine added to it, an essential trace mineral that aids in proper development and hormone production. The mineral is naturally occurring in soil and is therefore found in most vegetables, but an iodine deficiency in certain regions of the country caused governments to start adding it to table salt back in the 1920s to ensure the population met its nutritional requirements. These days, iodine deficiency is relatively rare, and the mineral is easily obtainable from a well-balanced diet.

Sea salt: Sea salt gained traction a few years ago, popping up in upscale restaurants and gourmet food stores before finally becoming mainstream enough to gain a place on the shelves of major grocery stores across North America. As the name suggests, sea salt is essentially the result of evaporated sea water. It's minimally processed and preserves many of the trace minerals naturally present in the ocean, such as magnesium and potassium. It's available in fine and coarse grinds, but real salt aficionados swear by the flakes, which are sold as Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.

Smoked sea salt: This salt is a must for cooks living without a barbecue! To make the salt, coarse sea salt grains are placed in a smoker and left to absorb the smokey flavour of the slow-burning wood. The result? A dark, rich salt that transforms simple pan-fried salmon into something you could swear just came off the grill.

Koshering salt (aka kosher salt): First, let's clear up a misconception -- there is nothing especially 'kosher' about kosher salt. Rather, the name comes from how kosher salt is traditionally used, as the coarse grains are perfect for drawing moisture out of preserved meats. Because of this, it became known as 'koshering' salt, which was eventually shortened to 'kosher' salt. The major difference between kosher salt and your run-of-the-mill table salt or sea salt is size -- the grains are coarse, making it a favourite among chefs, as the granules are easy to grab and sprinkle onto foods as opposed to finer grains. It's also free of additives, such as iodine.

Himalayan salt: Often referred to as pink salt, this coarse grind is hand-harvested from ancient salt deposits in the Himalayan mountains and the Salt Range of Pakistan. The pinkish colour of the salt comes from its rich concentration of minerals, such as calcium and iron, and is considered a healing agent in certain cultures. You can buy Himalayan salt in granular form and use it as a seasoning or finishing salt in cooking. Large blocks of the vibrant salt are also sold and used as cooking bricks -- the blocks are heated on a grill or in the oven and food is literally cooked on them, causing the subtle flavour of the salt to impact your dish.

Rock salt: This is the exact same stuff you throw on your driveway in the winter to eat away at ice, but it has its place in the kitchen, too. The extremely large, coarse grains are often used as a 'bed' for baking foods like oysters on -- you simply line a baking sheet with a layer of rock salt and nestle the oysters on top to cook. The salt keeps the oysters upright and also protects them from the direct heat coming from your baking sheet. When buying rock salt, always look for the food-grade version rather than using the driveway stuff.

Fleur de sel: The literal translation of this French salt says it all. The 'flower of salt' is the top, unadulterated crust of the evaporated sea water we use as regular sea salt, and its large, flaky grains are grey in colour and moist to the touch. Because it comes from the top of the pile of evaporated sea water, the grains contain a higher concentration of minerals and flavour. Fleur de sel is favoured by chefs as a finishing salt rather than a seasoning agent -- it's often sprinkled over steamed vegetables or chocolate desserts just before they hit the table to add crunch and flavour.

Sel gris: This coarse grey salt is the layer of crystals lying just under fleur de sel once sea water evaporates in the salt pan. It's not quite as flaky as fleur de sel, and therefore can be used in cooking as well as as a finishing salt. Like fleur de sel, it boasts a rich mineral content and has bold flavour. Chefs love using it in dry rubs and seasonings for meat, as sel gris' high moisture content prevents the salt from drawing too much moisture out of steaks and chops.

Pickling salt: As the name suggests, this salt is used in pickling and canning. This variety is essentially table salt without the added iodine and anti-caking agents -- additives that can cause your pickle juice to become cloudy over time.

Dos and don'ts of seasoning with salt

- The volume of soups and stews reduces with cooking, making flavours more concentrated over time. Because of this, only add salt near the end of the cook time -- otherwise your soup may be too salty

- Don't underestimate the power of properly salted cooking water. Whether you're boiling pasta, rice or vegetables, your water should taste as salty as the sea in order to properly flavour your food. This means adding as much as one to two tablespoons of salt if you're using a large pot

- Salt isn't just for savoury dishes! If your recipe doesn't call for it already, consider adding a small amount (a quarter of a teaspoon, or to taste) of salt to cake, cookie and muffin batters. Salt accentuates flavours, so while you won't taste the salt itself, it will make the star flavour in your dessert really pop

- Ever wonder why a simple green salad tastes so much better when you order it in a nice restaurant? The chef's secret is as simple as a pinch of salt. While it might seem odd to pass the salt shaker for a bowl of mesclun greens, the word 'salad' itself is actually derived from the Latin term for salt. While a pinch of salt to your finished salad will do, consider mixing it into your vinaigrette to evenly distribute flavour

- Since kosher salt consists of larger grains, you need to adjust the amount used when switching between table or fine sea salt and kosher. For every teaspoon of table salt or fine sea salt needed, use 1½ teaspoons of kosher salt

- Salt is often used as a natural cleaner, and it really shines when it comes to cleaning years of residue off your precious cast-iron pans. Bon Appetit recommends pouring a cup of kosher salt into a warm skillet and using a folded kitchen towel to scrub away stubborn bits. Then, simply dump the salt, rinse and dry!

- Health Canada recommends keeping your sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams a day, which translates to just under a teaspoon. Keep an eye on your intake and limit (or better yet, eliminate) processed foods from your diet