Three Categories Worth Owning
- ▪Cooking salt: fine sea salt or kosher salt, used by the handful
- ▪Finishing flake: Maldon, fleur de sel, or Cornish flake — added at the end for crunch
- ▪Specialty colored salt: Hawaiian black, Himalayan pink, smoked salt — for occasional decorative or flavor accents
When to Finish
Sprinkle flake salt on grilled steak just before serving, on tomato slices with olive oil, on fresh chocolate chip cookies, on roasted vegetables, on sliced melon. The crystals don't dissolve fully, giving a crunchy salty pop that ground salt cannot replicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sea salt healthier than table salt?
Marginally — sea salt contains trace minerals that table salt does not. But sodium content is essentially identical, so the health difference is negligible. Choose sea salt for flavor and texture, not for nutrition.
Should I store salt in a salt cellar?
Yes. Keep cooking salt in a small open ceramic cellar near the stove for pinch-and-throw control. Keep finishing flake salt in a separate, smaller jar to avoid mixing.