The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 88

because its large grains efficiently draw blood out
from flesh during the koshering process (which, by
theway,makesitanextremelyefficientsaltfordrybrining—moreonthatlater).
Whyusekoshersaltoverregulartablesalt?One
word:sprinkling.Tablesaltisfineifyouuseitoutof
asaltshaker,butyougetamuchbetterideaofhow
much salt you’re actually putting into or on your
foodifyouaddthesaltwithyourfingers,andkosher
salt is simply easier to pick up and apply that way.
Toapplyanevenlayerofsalttoyourfood,pickup
a pinch of kosher salt, then hold your hand high
above the food before sprinkling it. Because of
turbulence in the air, your salt will rain down upon
your food in a pattern that shows a normal (bell
curve) distribution from where you drop it. The
higher you drop it from, the more even the
distribution.
All of the recipes in this book were tested with
Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If youmust use table
salt, you should use only two-thirds as much as is
called for, as table salt packs more tightly into a
measuring spoon (most of the time it’s called for in
amounts too small to effectively measure with a
scale).Inmostsavoryrecipes,you’llbeabletotaste
the salt level as you cook, adjusting it to suit your
own palate. Whenever appropriate (for baking
projects, brines, etc.), I’ve given salt measurements
inweight.
And what about all the fancy “designer” salts?

The pink or black ones?The grayish sea salt from
GuérandeinFrancethatcomesinbig,moistclusters
or the white pyramid-shaped Maldon sea salt from
England? I have a bad habit of collecting them,
partlybecausethey’reprettyandIlikethewaythey
lookonmyfood,butmostlyjusttocompetewithmy
wife’s shoe collection. (One new salt per pair of
shoesseemstokeephershoppinghabitatbay.)
But what are they good for? These are all
finishingsalts,saltsthataremeanttobeappliedjust
beforeservingorevenatthetable.Despiteclaimsto
the contrary, you’ll find that flavorwise, there is
almostnodifferencebetweenthesesaltsandregular
orkoshersalt.Dissolvethesameweightsofthestuff
intoglassesofwater,andtheyallbecomeessentially
identical.It’stheirshapethatmakestheminteresting
—thecrunchandintenseburstof,well,saltinessthat
theyprovide.Thinkyouwon’tnoticethedifference?
Go out and get yourself a box of Maldon sea salt
(the finishing salt that I use most often), a box of
kosher salt, and a box of regular table salt, then
placethreeidenticalslicesofripetomatoonaplate
(or if you prefer, three identical slices of steak).
Sprinkle a bit of table salt on the first and eat it.
Next, sprinkle some kosher salt on the second and
eat it. Notice the difference? See how much more
easily you can sprinkle the salt evenly across the
surfaceofthefood?Finally,sprinkleafewshardsof
Maldonsaltonthelastandeatit.Noticethecrackle
of salt crystals under your teeth and the