Can I Substitute Kosher Salt for Table Salt
All salt is not created equal.
If you have ever wondered, can I substitute coarse kosher salt for iodized table salt in a recipe? Then read on, this blog post is for you! The answer will affect the outcome of your recipe and the deliciousness thereof!
How Much Sodium To Eat Per Day
As far as health is concerned: sodium is necessary to control water balance in our bodies and we need it for proper muscle, nerve and circulatory system function. We should limit sodium to 1,500 to 2,000 mg per day to avoid health problems such as high blood pressure and kidney disease. Avoiding processed foods is an easy way to stay under that limit.
Why Cook With Salt?
As far as cooking goes: I love salt. It makes food taste good. Salt makes it possible for us to fully taste our food. Our bodies are made of mostly salt water so if you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. If food is under-salted our taste buds can’t perceive the tastes. If you’ve ever eaten a meal with me, you know that one of my favorite expressions is “needs salt.” I have an entire cabinet of different salts in my kitchen.
Why Salt is Important For Tasting Food
So this question about substituting salts and using them interchangeably is a hot button issue to me.
- Salt is important in the correct amounts because it really makes a difference in the way we perceive the balance of taste and flavor in a recipe. This is especially true of the expected interaction of salt and sour.
- In many of my recipes I rely on adding brightness to a recipe by increasing the acidity which doesn’t increase calories. Balancing the acidity with salt is really important.
- Salt also makes bitter compounds less detectable by our taste buds.
In other words, a bit of salt can make the difference in the path to winning the war on picky eating and converting veggie-fobes to the greener side of life.
Comparing Weights of Kosher Salt Vs Other Salts
I did a little experiment. I decided to compare the weights of the different salts in my cabinet. I took a consistent volume measurement of one level tablespoon and compared the various weights in grams to see how heavy they were. The heaviest was the iodized table salt. The lightest was the diamond crystal kosher salt. This made sense to me, since the fluffy coarse kosher salt grains cannot be packed as densely into the tablespoon as a tablespoon of iodized table salt. The other salts (all natural unrefined salts and sea salts) fell somewhere in between.
Comparison of weight in grams for 1 level tablespoon
- Iodized table salt 14g.
- Fine grind Himalayan pink salt 12g.
- French Fleur de Sel 11g.
- Sardinian Black fior di sale 9 g.
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 7g.
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt 6g.
Kosher salt is much lower in sodium per volume measure than table salt. Correction, SOME coarse kosher salt is much lower in sodium. But you’ll have to look at the nutrition label.
Comparison of ¼ teaspoon salt sodium mg
- Iodized table salt 590 mg.
- Morton Coarse Kosher Salt 480mg
- Sea salts 390 mg
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt 280mg
I realize that not everyone has an entire cabinet of salt, so I only call for two types of salt in my recipes. I call for regular iodized table salt in most of the recipes I write. In that case, I just call it salt. But occasionally I will call for coarse kosher salt if it is important that the salt is sprinkled by hand over something or if it will change the texture of something for a crust (as for over a piece of meat), or if it is to make a paste with herbs or garlic.
Can I substitute kosher salt for table salt?
Do not substitute coarse kosher salt one to one for table salt in a recipe. Unless you are using Morton brand, and in that case you can (for amounts less than a teaspoon.) If you really want to substitute that’s fine, but I recommend that if you want to recipe to come out the way it was intended to, and have the correct balance of salt in relationship to the other ingredients then be prepared for a bit of math. You’ll have to check the nutrition label of the salt you use and then figure out how much to use based on the mg of sodium.
If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of table salt (which has 2360 mg. sodium) you’ll need 2 ¼ teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Coarse kosher salt to get that many mg of sodium and the correct balance of sodium in the recipe.
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Thank you for writing this. I just this moment tried Diamond Kosher for the first time. I love it, it’s so fluffy.
It really is fluffy! I love that one. I am used to it, so when I buy another brand, and grab a pinch, it seems so coarse by comparison. Thanks so much for stopping by today!
LOVE this guide, Katie!! Definitely learned a few things here!
Really? That is great to hear Lisa. Have a great day.
Yup! I’ve known for a while that kosher salt has less sodium, but I went further to determine exactly how its sodium content compared to other types of salt. The charts you have in this post will come in very handy!
Great post! I learned and re-learned so much, pinning to save!
Thank you Alex, and congrats on the manuscript. That is awesome!!
This is the best idea Katie! I totally needed this! And I’ll be coming back 🙂
That’s so great to hear Karen! Have a great day!
I learned so much! Thanks for creating such a helpful resource! 🙂
You are so very welcome Steph! Have a great day!
Thank you for doing this post! I’ve been wondering if it makes real difference in a recipe and have been meaning to look into this. Great information!
That’s great to hear Melanie! So glad to help.
i bake with table salt and cook with kosher as well..this is a great resource i need to share on my social media channels 🙂
Thank you so much and I appreciate the share Dixya!
Such a great post – I’m a salt collector too but like Jessica, I pretty much use table salt only when baking and kosher salt or my other fancy salts for the rest of my dishes.
Fancy salt. I like that term. Lol. Glad you like this post my friend.
Great info here – something that comes up so often. I actually only use table salt when I bake. Otherwise it’s Kosher salt all the time.
I happen to use Kosher salt for non-work cooking myself as well. But for recipes I develop I try to use regular salt. I have thought of switching to calling for only Kosher but I hate to think of what would happen if I called for a teaspoon of kosher salt and someone subbed in a teaspoon of regular salt. Yikes!
That’s so interesting you use table salt for your recipe development. I would find it too salty, but I hear you on if someone were to mix it up. I think as it is I’m more conservative on the amount of salt I use, but hopefully people read recipes carefully enough to make sure they choose the right salt!
Great tips and I love your salt photo! I’ve been adding a pinch of sea salt to my smoothies lately, and it definitely enhances all the flavors! I need to make sure my daughter sees this, because she’s been know to add coarse kosher salt when she and her friends are baking 🙁
When I work out in the summertime especially I add a pinch of salt to my drinking water. Just a touch makes a big difference for me.
This is a great info. I have tasted and used Himalayan pink salt. I will give kosher a shot. Thanks for all the useful info
Yeah, Himalayan is great isn’t it? Kosher is my main cooking salt when I am not working on a recipe. It is so easy to moderate the right amount with you fingertips.
So many salts – I hadn’t ever heard of Sardinian fior di sale before! And I never really thought of the connection between the salt content in our bodies and how it perceives tastes in food. I’m bookmarking this as I am so fascinated by all this info! Thanks Katie!
My sis brought me the black Sardinian salt from her last trip to Italy. It is crunchy and a nice way to finish a dish. So glad you found it useful.
Love this! I typically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt to finish a dish because you get a lot of salty taste for less sodium due to the flaky texture. But I love experimenting with all types of salts. 🙂
Some of the stores in this area don’t carry Diamond, but it is my fave as well.
I’ve actually always have been so confused about salt! Thanks for the info! 🙂
So glad to have helped clear up any confusion Rachel.
This is such a great resource! Pinning!
Thank you for pinning Taylor!