Why do people insist on writing/using "Kosher" salt?

Larger crystals give a different texture and less concentrated salt flavor; better for some things.

I don’t know what you mean by writing, but as far as using it, I always prefer kosher salt to normal table salt.

Here are some of the reasons why.

@uberbatman Useful.

Kosher salt I think is free of other minerals, I think it is Rock Salt as opposed to Sea Salt. I am pretty sure Coarse Salt can be Kosher, meaning they can be used interchangeably, but the Kosher of course would also be ok’d by the Rabbi.

Edit: or maybe Coarse Salt is any type of larger crystal, while Kosher is a specific type?

Kosher salt doesn’t have additives, such as iodine.

Kosher contains no additives. Also has the larger crystal. I have Kosher, Hawaiian, “free flowing”, Smoked, Sea salt and Fleur de Sel.

All are different and used on or in different things.

But when it rains….does it pour?

Unrefined sea salt: “Very little processing is required for sea salt, as it is obtained simply by evaporating sea water. Over 80 trace minerals are left behind in the sea salt including iron, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, potassium and iodine. Sea salt usually is not iodized and the natural iodine it contains is only in very small amounts.” Source

Rock salt is used to melt ice and snow. Not a good idea to ingest it.

I could be wrong on this, but I believe it is actually supposed to be called ‘Koshering Salt’, originally used for koshering meat, but I could very well be wrong. It seems to ring a bell from that show ‘Good Eats’ with that Jewish host, can’t recall his name.

Don’t quote me on that though.

@poisonedantidote I think you are very right. It is the coarse salt that is used for kashering meat.

Don’t forget that iodized salt has some nutritional advantages ofver kosher salt.
From Wiki
“Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. According to public health experts, iodisation of salt may be the world’s simplest and most cost-effective measure available to improve health, only costing US$0.05 per person per year.
Edible salt can be iodised by spraying it with a potassium iodate solution. 60 ml of potassium iodate, costing about US$1.15 (in 2006), is required to iodise a ton of salt.[1] Salt is an effective vehicle for distributing iodine to the public because it does not spoil and is consumed in more predictable amounts than most other commodities.”

@LuckyGuy Yes, most people do need iodine in their diet.

I often wonder if Americans are becoming Iodine dificient again with al the thyroid troubles here, we don’t test Americans for the dificiency anymore, and when I was diagnosed with my hypothyroid I called Campbell’s soups and Stouffer’s frozen, the two packaged brands I eat most, and both said iodine is not in the sodium/salt they use. Both of them make very salty products and I would assume more people do not add their own table salt, I know I don’t. I sometimes buy low salt soup so I can add my own iodized salt.

Also, I once saw an interview with a chef and he said he doesn’t use iodized salt, because it changes the taste. So possibly if you eat out a lot and eat packaged food a lot, you are not getting sufficient iodine. Just a hypothesis of mine.

@gailcalled Rock salt is used for both melting ice and cooking. I can’t seem to find if Kosher salt is exclusively from the sea or rock.

Because Alton Brown says so.

The koshering process involves draining blood from meat. Kosher salt is porous and absorbant; when it’s sprinkled over meat, it acts like a sponge and draws-out the blood.

Yuck! Is it any wonder why I’ve been a vegetarian for so many years?

mmmm blood

The differences between Kosher salt, sea salt, and iodized table salt

@poisonedantidote

The host of Good Eats is Alton Brown, although he’s not Jewish (not that it’s that big a deal one way or another :)

It’s my favorite cooking show of all time.

@Buttonstc it’s the only show I’ll actually watch on Food Network (hate this whole bs reality/competition show trend FN is getting into.) Good Eats is amazing not only because Alton is a great cook with some awesome recipes but more so because he unlike many other shows actually teaches you the why not just the how. Science meets cooking, awesome.