A Helpful Primer on Different Types of Cooking Salt

Chef Jack Bishop of America’s Test Kitchen offered a helpful primer about the different types of cooking salt every cook should have in their kitchen. He specifically looked at table salt, two different types of Kosher salt, and sea salt, noting that the size of the salt crystal makes all the difference in a recipe.

The most important thing is for you to understand that these measure really differently. And whether you’re measuring with your hands or a spoon, this is really really important because the crystal size varies.- you get more or less salt in your hands or in a spoon.

The Types of Salt You Need to Stock in Your Kitchen

He also notes that the crystal size of table salt is pretty even all around, while Kosher salt can vary in heft, shape, and size depending on the brand.

The good news is table salt, all measures the same so a teaspoon of this is always going to be a teaspoon no matter the brand. …Now it gets a little bit more complicated when you’re trying to substitute for Kosher salt.  You need two teaspoons of the Diamond Crystal in order to equal one teaspoon of table salt. To have the same weight of salt you need one you need one and a half teaspoons of Morton Kosher salt in order to have the equivalent of one teaspoon of table salt.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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