Not too much disagreement on my part. I'm a chemist and agree that salt is
sodium chloride (NaCl). Impurities have little influence upon its taste.
What does is particle size, i.e. how finely it is ground. The finer it is
the greater the surface area that is in contact with the tongue and the
bigger the hit. There are some qualifiers. Kosher salt is prilled, i.e.
fused and sprayed into a tower. As it falls down the tower it solidifies
into the form with the smallest surface area, namely spheres. This form has
the least surface area per unit weight so will taste less salty. When
crystallized from solution, it will have a much greater suface area per unit
weight because it has a cubic structure so will appear to be saltier. If I
could draw pictures on Usenet I could make it clearer...sigh!

As far as the fineness argument goes find the coarsest sugar (or salt) you
can. Put some on your tongue. Crush some on a hard surface with the back
of a spoon, taste it again. Whiz it in a spice or coffee blender (clean),
taste again. You'll taste the difference.

When it's in solution it makes no difference, salt is salt. Weight for
weight there is no difference, when you measure by volume, bulk density will
make a difference. The European way of weighing ingredients works so much
better.

Robin

"hahabogus" > wrote in message
...
> "David Hare-Scott" > wrote in
> :
>
> > I understand the concept of kosher food in the religious/cultural
> > context, that is not the question. What I am curious about is the
> > gastromonical effect of kosher salt.
> >
> > In what way is kosher salt different from (more or less) pure sodium
> > chloride?
> >
> > Is the difference clearly noticable so that if a recipe specified
> > kosher and you used standard cooking salt (or vice versa) that you
> > would easily taste it?
> >
> > David
> >
> >
> >
>
> All the salts (NaCl) used for cooking by man aren't pure. There are other
> trace minerals in them. This salt ain't made in a lab it is either mined
or
> made by evaporation methods. These trace minerals and any additives make
> for taste differences.
>
> Most if not all boxes of salt sold as "table salt" have iodine (sp??) in
> them, as well as a good chance of some sort of anti clumping agent (most
> likely Corn Starch/flour). The Iodine is to reduce gouter type problems.
If
> you eat seafood regularly you shouldn't need introduced iodine, but I'm
not
> a doctor.
>
> Kosher Salt has no additives. If you find Kosher Salt too expensive...buy
> course pickling salt...it too has no additives.
>
> Also kosher salt comes in a larger crystal/grain/flake than table salt.
> Which means that volume measurements for kosher salt (like a tsp or 1/4
> cup) use less salt (by weight) than the smaller grain table salt, so
kosher
> salted recipes tend to be less salty in taste. Kinda like the pound of
> feathers versus the pound of iron thingie but not so obvious.
>
> Kosher salt is easier to add to items by hand (Spinkle on things). Easier
> to control amounts. Because you select by hand the amount you use, not
> guess how much is coming out of a shaker. The area above a hot pan/pot can
> be very humid and plug up your shaker's holes.
>
> There is a very minor taste difference (at least to me) between table
salt,
> kosher salt, sea salt and pickling salt. This might be a mental thing. But
> all salt (NaCl), used for cooking, basically comes from the sea...It is
> just some seas dried up thousands of years ago and others are still around
> today.
>
> Salt can also collect odors/tastes from the air. Example: Some of the
humid
> air that comes from a pot of boiling cabbage will be extracted by any salt
> near by...slightly changing the taste of your table salt over
> time/exposure.
>
> --
> Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
> and water.
> --------
> FIELDS, W. C.