Chefs are anything but nonchalant about sourcing ingredients. Missy Robbins, who cooks at Lilia in Brooklyn, has been using La Valle tomatoes for the past ten years; when it was time to choose a cooking olive oil for their restaurant, she tasted fifteen types before landing on Monini; and they bring in Tutto Calabria jarred chiles from Italy.
Even the salt, an ingredient often taken for granted, is carefully chosen: At Lilia, they use only Diamond Crystal kosher salt—and if Mortons kosher salt comes in, Chef Robbins says, it throws everything off. (When Food52s Test Kitchen Manager worked in the kitchen at Frannys, he remembers using “the red box”—thats also Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt too). From Our Shop
Its not just chefs who have an expressed preference for a certain name in salt. When we asked our Twitter followers what brand of salt they use in cooking (as opposed to finishing or garnishing), they showed allegiance to Mortons.
But is this brand loyalty among kosher salts based on family biases and traditions—its what your dad used, its what youre comfortable with—or is there a real, taste-able difference between Morton’s Kosher Salt and Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt?
What Is Table Salt?
Even though Diamond Crystal and Morton both have “kosher salt” in their name, Morton Kosher Salt is considered table salt. Diamond Crystal contains 53 percent less sodium by volume compared to table salt. If you see a recipe call for table salt, or if it specifically calls for Morton, then you should obviously use Morton. But if a recipe calls for kosher salt, stick with Diamond Crystal.
As a rule of thumb, Food52’s recipes are tested with Diamond Crystal, unless one says otherwise.
Turns out that there are visible differences at the level of the individual salt crystals. As Jill Santopietro reported for Chowhound back in 2010, Diamond Crystal and Mortons have different shapes: Mortons is made by flattening salt granules into large thin flakes by pressing them through high-pressure rollers, whereas Diamond Crystal is formed by a patented method in which “upside-down pyramids [are] stacked one over the next to form a crystal.”
This process, according Edward Schneider of the New York Times, who also wrote about D.C. versus Mortons in April of that year, is the patented Alberger method (yep—thats the same process used to make Flavacol stick so well to popcorn): It results in “handsome hollow pyramid-shaped grains. This hollow structure accounts for the salt’s lightness, and the thin walls of the pyramids for its crushability.”
In each pinch of Diamond Crystal, theres more space between the grains of salt (because the crystals dont sit as snug against each other)—which makes it, writes Santopietro, lighter and less salty than Mortons (and fine sea salt or table salt)—”and therefore more forgiving in the kitchen.” Youre less likely to over-salt if you use Diamond Crystal. Switch from Diamond Crystal to Mortons without making adjustments and your food might burn a hole through your tongue.
Schneider recounts his own experience:
If youre wondering about converting between the different kinds of salts, Santopietro and Schneider have done that research for us:
- Schneider: 1 : 1.85, Mortons : D.C.
- Santopietro: 1 1/4 : 1 3/4, Mortons : D.C.
Santopietros rule of thumb? “Think of Mortons and fine salt as roughly the same” and substitute it with nearly twice the amount of Diamond Crystal.
But recipe writers frequently neglect to identify the brand of kosher salt (shame on us!), even though it makes quite a difference. So whats a home cook to do? “Pretend they used Diamond salt,” says Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen: You can always increase the amount of salt later. Are you a Mortons or a Diamond Crystal sort of cook? Tell us in the comments.
Long enjoyed by chefs for its taste, texture and ease of use, Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is considered a fundamental ingredient for restaurant and foodservice establishments that can be used to bring out the natural flavors of a wide variety of dishes. The coarse texture of Morton Kosher Salt makes it easy to grab and sprinkle just the perfect amount, allowing you to easily control the amount of salt you add to all your cooking. The compact flakes perfectly adhere to food for ideal flavor enhancement.
What is kosher salt, and why do (American) chefs love it?
Is Morton Salt kosher?
The coarse texture of Morton Kosher Salt makes it easy to grab and sprinkle just the perfect amount, allowing you to easily control the amount of salt you add to all your cooking. The compact flakes perfectly adhere to food for ideal flavor enhancement. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is Kosher certified for use in preparing kosher meals.
Is Morton kosher salt the same as diamond crystal salt?
More concisely, 1 teaspoon of table salt, Morton kosher salt and Diamond Crystal kosher salt will not deliver the same amount of saltiness to a dish. A good rule of thumb: the smaller the crystal size = the more densely it will pack into a measurement = the “saltier” it is by volume.
How much Morton kosher salt should I use?
If you are using Morton Kosher Salt, I recommend using about 1 1/2 teaspoons of Morton Kosher for each teaspoon of table salt called for in the recipe. Kosher salt and table salt have different textures and crystal sizes, which means you have to be careful substituting one for the other in recipes.
Are Morton flakes kosher?
The compact flakes perfectly adhere to food for ideal flavor enhancement. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is Kosher certified for use in preparing kosher meals. Meet the flavor game changers: they’re crunchy, flaky and extra fine.