Asking here because we don't really have a cooking community lol
I've tried my share of salt; Himalayan pink, Persian blue, even smoked salt which gives off a nice smoky smell
But they all taste the same. It's salt.
Am I missing something or is their value solely predicated on the geographical origins + unique colors?
Iodized salt is proletarian salt. i.e. it's what your diet probably needs unless you're consuming a lot of seafood (or seaweed) on a regular basis.
Morton salt can be really nice as a finishing salt for dishes where the texture and additional flavour pop is a feature, e.g. on something like salted cookies or a salad where you sprinkle salt on the top. (This can also apply to things like smoked salt but unless you are aficionado or you've got a dish where you want a smokey flavour to be isolated from the rest of the dish to provide feature and heterogeneity in flavours, it's not really worth it and you're likely to be better off using just using smoked paprika or liquid smoke instead.)
Most other forms of salt are really just hype and marketing tbh except in the cases where you specifically require a size and shape of salt crystals for particular niche applications. The trace amount of minerals that you'll get from "impure" salts are unlikely to contribute much to your nutritional needs unless you're using copious amounts of salt.
I don't begrudge people who really dig their fancy salts at all however, don't get me wrong. If it brings you joy then go hog wild on that stuff. But if you're a pragmatic cook or you're on a budget then there's no reason why regular table salt (especially iodized salt) is perfectly fine to use.
You pretty much confirmed all that I was thinking 😁
Same with me, people are free to enjoy their Himalayan salt, it's just that I don't really get buying expensive salt when it's effectively the same as table salt just because it has that "exotic" factor. Although you can get cheap Himalayan salt nowadays.
Have you tried black salt? It is usually had with chaat (an umbrella term for a variety of Indian street food) and it tastes distinctly different from table salt.
Black salt is interesting because it's unlike other salts due to the trace impurities making it slightly sour and slightly sulphurous.
It's really handy for vegan egg substitutes to recreate that distinctive eggy taste.
Am I missing something or is their value solely predicated on the geographical origins + unique colors?
I may be wrong but I believe some salt is basically just sodium. While e.g. sea salt contains other minerals.
Other than that, I imagine it comes down to monopoly rent, like everything else. Capitalists trying to convince us that the same chemical from one place tastes different to the same chemical from somewhere else so they can charge more for it. Like the difference between champagne and sparkling wine. There can be differences but these are often negligible and don't necessarily match the hype.
I think sodium is the atom that tastes salty, table salt is Sodium Chloride which allows it to stay in a crystal form, but otherwise yeah it's usually just pure NaCl.
Sea salt I'm not sure on what the other minerals do, you're right that it is more than the simple molecule, but it's still 90% NaCl so I doubt it makes a big difference.
Like the difference between champagne and sparkling wine
They are usually made a bit differently but probably if you go up enough in prices (or just find the right vineyard) they will end up using the same process 😁 sparkling wine is usually made by adding in the CO2 bubbles while champagne makes them naturally (though they're still CO2 bubbles).
Damn, they got me with their marketing, didn't they!?
Tbh, I think there are taste differences with e.g. champagne and sparkling wine. I didn't know that about the production process. I'm no connoisseur. I hate champagne but sparkling wine is fine. Prosecco is also disgusting. So there must be a taste difference. But then, when is not fizzy, I'd prefer red or port (poured with a wine measure).
I suppose I'm saying the 'better' tastes aren't always determined by the label. If someone makes 'champagne' with different grapes, it'll taste similar enough – from your correction of what I said about sodium/salt, it sounds like it's the same with salt, too? Although I do like the other comments in this thread, about using smoked salt to finish a salad or black salt with popcorn.
If I remember correctly, Prosecco's bubbles are naturally formed -- and I just remembered also, the difference between the two is their size, they're smaller in champagne. That might be why you don't like it!
use iodized salt and if your blood pressure is high use less of it and eat more potassium. iodized salt can taste a little muddy so it may not be good as a finishing salt where the crystals remain intact. In these cases you can use coarser sea salt or soy sauce and possibly shaoxing rice wine.
I always find that sea salt or himalayan salt has a bit more texture and flavour maybe? My normal iodized salt is usually far less flavoured and mostly goes unnoticed.
I recently try to not add too much salt to my meals, and if I do it is iodized. I try to get the flavor from other herbs and spices.
Other than that, I am not against salt or anything. Eat salt, just not too much.
From a cooking perspective, I only use sea salt because I much prefer the taste of it to iodized salt.
