4 ms·

The point of fancy salts is that they're not just NaCl -- sea salts, in particular, have a lot of other trace minerals with their own flavors (to say nothing of

by crygin 10y ago

The point of fancy salts is that they're not just NaCl -- sea salts, in particular, have a lot of other trace minerals with their own flavors (to say nothing of the texture -- generally not so important in flavoring a dish as in finishing).

NikolaeVarius 10y ago
The minerals themselves are completely irrelevant in taste. They're extremely trace. Once dissolved, the salt is completely undifferentiatable. The only difference is that if sprinkled on top of food, the size/shape of the salt will change how strong the salt taste is on the tongue and how long it lasts,
- crygin 10y ago
  Here's an example of one study which found that other minerals play a role in the salty taste perception itself, and also discusses the non-salty volatile flavors present in different sea salts: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010.00317.x/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010....
  - guitarbill 10y ago
    Eh, not sure this is a great study. First, n = 9. Also, I find the abstract really obtusely written: > [...] three sea salts had 30% less sodium compared to a reference table salt. [...] Salt solutions were evaluated on an equivalent weight and on an equivalent sodium content basis. [...] Salty taste intensity on an equivalent sodium basis was not different (P < 0.05), but time-intensity profiles for salty taste were distinct (P < 0.05). So what they're saying is, some sea salts have extra minerals which in effect lowers the sodium content per gram. But if you compare a sea salt solution to a table salt solution with equal sodium, they taste equally as intense, but sometimes for different lengths of time. So in other words, you need more sea salt by weight to achieve the same intensity as table salt, but they didn't want to say that. EDIT: So the time-based intensity seems to mirror what NikolaeVarius said. And then the "Practical Implications": > There has been some controversy that sea salt may be healthier than table salts due to the presence of other minerals. This research demonstrates that sea salts harvested from different parts of the world have different mineral content and time-intensity profiles of salty taste. Due to the different time intensity profiles, it may be possible to use less of some sea salts to obtain the same salty taste as a food containing traditional salt but having a lower sodium content. Unfortunately, I can't read the whole article because paywall, so I can't evaluate how big the time-intensity effect is. For the "salty taste" intensity, they've shown this isn't true. And honestly, that wording wouldn't even fly on Wikipeda, "[t]here has been some controversy". Wow. (Also interesting that the two authors are both called Drake.)
- beat 10y ago
  It also affects how the salt dissolves across various coarser solids and "sticky" liquids. That said, it's not hard to tell the difference in flavors of different salts in an A/B test. At home, if it's just getting cooked into stuff, we use cheap kosher salt. If it's going on top of something, we're very picky and keep several different salts around (I'm personally fond of relatively inexpensive and widely available Maldon salt).
carlob 10y ago
I'm as skeptical as OP, but if anything it's not the minerals that change the taste, it's algae and fish residue.

by crygin 10y ago

NikolaeVarius 10y ago

The minerals themselves are completely irrelevant in taste. They're extremely trace. Once dissolved, the salt is completely undifferentiatable. The only difference is that if sprinkled on top of food, the size/shape of the salt will change how strong the salt taste is on the tongue and how long it lasts,

crygin 10y ago
Here's an example of one study which found that other minerals play a role in the salty taste perception itself, and also discusses the non-salty volatile flavors present in different sea salts: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010.00317.x/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010....
- guitarbill 10y ago
  Eh, not sure this is a great study. First, n = 9. Also, I find the abstract really obtusely written: > [...] three sea salts had 30% less sodium compared to a reference table salt. [...] Salt solutions were evaluated on an equivalent weight and on an equivalent sodium content basis. [...] Salty taste intensity on an equivalent sodium basis was not different (P < 0.05), but time-intensity profiles for salty taste were distinct (P < 0.05). So what they're saying is, some sea salts have extra minerals which in effect lowers the sodium content per gram. But if you compare a sea salt solution to a table salt solution with equal sodium, they taste equally as intense, but sometimes for different lengths of time. So in other words, you need more sea salt by weight to achieve the same intensity as table salt, but they didn't want to say that. EDIT: So the time-based intensity seems to mirror what NikolaeVarius said. And then the "Practical Implications": > There has been some controversy that sea salt may be healthier than table salts due to the presence of other minerals. This research demonstrates that sea salts harvested from different parts of the world have different mineral content and time-intensity profiles of salty taste. Due to the different time intensity profiles, it may be possible to use less of some sea salts to obtain the same salty taste as a food containing traditional salt but having a lower sodium content. Unfortunately, I can't read the whole article because paywall, so I can't evaluate how big the time-intensity effect is. For the "salty taste" intensity, they've shown this isn't true. And honestly, that wording wouldn't even fly on Wikipeda, "[t]here has been some controversy". Wow. (Also interesting that the two authors are both called Drake.)
beat 10y ago
It also affects how the salt dissolves across various coarser solids and "sticky" liquids. That said, it's not hard to tell the difference in flavors of different salts in an A/B test. At home, if it's just getting cooked into stuff, we use cheap kosher salt. If it's going on top of something, we're very picky and keep several different salts around (I'm personally fond of relatively inexpensive and widely available Maldon salt).

carlob 10y ago

I'm as skeptical as OP, but if anything it's not the minerals that change the taste, it's algae and fish residue.