What do you know about Regular Table Salt Versus Sea Salt?

1. 71

   crazyhorsesghostposted 12 years ago

   
   Table Salt Crystal
   
   Have you ever tasted the difference's between table salt and rock salt?
   
   
   Sea Salt being harvested in Thailand.
   
   In case you don't know sea salt especially unrefined sea salt is a great source of nutrients and it has much better flavor than regular table salt. You should make sure that your unrefined sea salt has iodine added to it.
   
   You can usually buy unrefined sea salt at your local health food store with iodine added to it.
   
   I keep my unrefined sea salt in a salt mill for salt so I can grind fresh sea salt up when I want it. To me sea salt that I grind up myself just has an explosion of flavor especially on eggs and chicken. Sea Salt and rosemary on chicken is delicious.
   
   So what is your favorite? Regular table salt or sea salt? Have you ever seen the red sea salt that comes from Hawaii?
   
   I like to bake chickens seasoned with Hawaiian Red Sea Salt and Rosemary. Have you ever had it that way.

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   1. 94

      Gordon Hamiltonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sea salt is definitely the prefered option. It tastes better and contains many more beneficial minerals than any table salt. I remember once seeing how it was dried and raked in the huge "refineries" by the sea shore. I've never heard of the red Hawaiian version and doubt I could get it in the UK but it's interesting to hear about it.
      
      I don't have table salt in the house and haven't used it for many years. When I don't use sea salt, I use a reduced sodium salt called LoSalt. It has 66% of the harmful sodium replaced by natural potassium and tastes exactly the same!

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      1. 71

         crazyhorsesghostposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You should be able to get the red Hawaiian Sea Salt from Amazon. That's where I get it and it is delicious.
         
         
         
         
         
         Above is the red Hawaiian Sea Salt. It needs to be ground with a salt mill to use.

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         1. 94

            Gordon Hamiltonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks! I'll check it out

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         2. 59

            Nevada Loganposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks! I just emptied my salt mill and wondered where I would get more. I didn't feel like searching all over town for some!

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   2. 90

      Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I prefer sea salt to regular table salt for more than one reasons. The sea salt tastes better to me and I think it has more iodine than table salt so I would presume it is healthier.
      
      I have never seen the red salt before.

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   3. 0

      Matthew Kirkposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Most table salt has anti calcing agents in, this is not salt and not what we would ever naturally consume

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         Matthew Kirkposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Also sea salt is less radio active

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2. 81

   Susan Ngposted 12 years ago

   Well, I find that Planters pistachios seasoned with sea salt taste better than other brands I've tried, but other than that I can't tell the difference in taste at all. But after reading the posts here I think I'm leaning towards using sea salt from now on. (Sea salt is rock salt, right?)

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3. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   "What do you know about Regular Table Salt Versus Sea Salt?"
   
   My guess is that sea salt has every trace element known to man.

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   1. 94

      Gordon Hamiltonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Poor guess - enjoy your, "Burger..."

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      1. 60

         paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         Really? I know that the ocean has all the elements in it. How could the salt not?

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   2. 84

      SidKempposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, it does. In fact, it has every trace element in the periodic table. If you need concentrated trace minerals for health reasons, check out liquid trace minerals made from the salt water of the Great Salt Lake.

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4. 62

   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   I'm a salt lover, so awhile back I bought sea salt, thinking it's healthier (sort of, anyway).  Somewhere along the way, I looked up salt on the Mayo Clinic site, and I found an article that said both types of salt are pretty much the same thing (different processes to get it though).  The article also pointed out that ordinary table salt has iodine and sea salt often doesn't (unless it's been added).
   
   So I just went back to living it up with my Diamond Crystal table salt. 
   
   It was a while ago that I read the article on that site.  Maybe the issue they were addressing is sodium, and not whether or not a person has to take in x amount of sea salt in order to get x amount of whatever other minerals it may have in it...

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   1. 71

      crazyhorsesghostposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      While the processed versions are the same unrefined sea salt that you have to grind up yourself is not. It is much healthier with a lot of nutrients that regular table salt does not have. You can grind it with a simple salt mill you can easily use.
      
      You can get unrefined sea salt at your local health food store.
      
      And the taste of unrefined sea salt is just wonderful.

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5. 59

   Eric Newlandposted 12 years ago

   Yeah, I think sea salt has only marginally lower sodium than regular salt. But I agree, it does have a good flavor. More complex than table salt.

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6. 84

   SidKempposted 12 years ago

   Great discussion of sea salt, thanks crazyhorseghost for getting us started. Here are some more important things to note. Table salt is iodized. We do need iodine in our diet. But when it's added to table salt, the salt clumps. Then the manufacturer adds sugar to the salt to keep it from clumping. Who wants sugar in their salt? Yuck!
   
   I go for sea salt, eat seaweed (like in sushi) for iodine, and leave the table salt behind.
   
   Kosher salt is kind of halfway in between. It is coarse-ground like sea salt and has no sugar or iodine added. But it is rock salt, and misses some of the minerals and flavor of sea salt.
   
   Some people say that course-ground salt is particularly good for flavoring meat on a grill.
   
   I have a friend who thinks Celtic sea salt tastes better than other sea salt. I prefer sea salt to table salt, but really don't find a flavor difference among sea salts.

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7. 71

   crazyhorsesghostposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for all the great comments. Sea Salt is great for cooking with. As I said above it is wonderful with baked chicken with the sea salt and rosemary. I use the red Hawaiian Sea Salt I get from Amazon.

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8. 66

   Brupieposted 12 years ago

   The taste differences between salts can be significant, but the chemical differences between salts is small.  The small amounts of trace minerals in some salts can be beneficial, but if one is concerned about sodium intake, a major consideration should be the shape of the salt crystals.  That is, a teaspoon of larger crystals or larger chunks of salt will have less surface area and less salty taste than finely ground salt.  Using finely ground salt is one way of maximizing the amount of saltiness without ingesting as much.

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9. 0

   LikaMarieposted 11 years ago

   Technically, almost all salt comes from the sea.  The main difference is, the usual table salt often comes from dried up ocean beds or in other "salt veins" that are found.
   
   Sea salt comes from the active sea.  Because it is so much fresher, it's better for your health.  Because the "salty" flavor seems to be stronger in sea salt, you use less, which is actually beneficial because you automatically lessen the amount of sodium intake.  While it's more expensive, it's better for you in the long run.

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