Why your salt brand matters more than you think

If you've ever followed an American recipe to the letter and ended up with something inedibly salty, the recipe probably wasn't wrong. Your salt was different from the cook's.

Salt is salt, until you measure it with a spoon

Gram for gram, salt seasons the same whatever it looks like. The difference is shape. Table salt is made of tiny dense cubes that pack tightly. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is made of light, hollow flakes that trap air. So a spoonful of each holds a very different amount of salt:

That's more than double the salt in a teaspoon of table salt compared with Diamond Crystal.

Which salt was the recipe written for?

Many American recipe developers use Diamond Crystal, and many say so in their notes. Some use Morton, which is denser. British recipes tend to assume fine sea salt or table salt. If the recipe doesn't say:

1. Start with about half the salt it asks for if you're using table salt.
2. Taste as you go, especially in sauces and soups.
3. For baking and brines, where you can't taste as you go, work it out by weight.

Convert it in a few seconds

Pick the salt the recipe was written for and the amount, and the converter shows how much of every other salt gives you the same weight.

The short version

Don't swap salts spoon for spoon. Halve table salt in a Diamond Crystal recipe, use about three-quarters for Morton, and when it matters, weigh.