Kosher sea salts are salts rich in sodium chloride. The most popular kosher salt is kosher salt or Dead Sea salt. It is used for cooking, baking, cosmetics and even for preserving food. It is also recognized by the word kosher, solarized salt or sea salt.
It was once a secret that the Dead Sea had the purest saltwater in the world. But now, thousands of adventurous people have turned their homes into home markets by selling kosher sea salts in various forms such as pouches, flakes, granules, shakers, jars and pots. Its popularity has spread beyond the religious Jewish people and many non-Jewish consumers have also started buying them for varied reasons.
Most of us are familiar with salt's salty taste. And while kosher sea salt and pink sea salt have their own distinct tastes, they actually belong to the class of salt known as mono sodium glutamate or MSG. This class of salt is derived primarily from four different sources including seawater, milk, cheese and white bread.
Most of us easily recognize table salt as well as various types of sea salts. We think that the saltiness of food depends on the animal it came from and the location where it was harvested. However, the actual source of kosher salt and table salt is more complicated. Salt is basically an essential nutrient that enhances our taste buds and provides healthy benefits to our body.
Sea salt contains sodium chloride, which reacts with water. As it reacts with the water, chemical changes take place which alter the minerals and electrolytes present in the salt's body. As these changes take place, the salt's fine crystal structure deteriorates and the salt loses its distinctive taste. In order to maintain its original taste and colour, sea salts have to undergo extensive purification processes. The processes render the salt usable as it is in the beginning, but the original flavour has to be preserved.
Unlike table salt or sea salts, kosher sea salts undergo much less purification. The process for kosher salt involves only boiling the salt in vinegar and rinsing the salts afterward. Since kosher salts are already very salty, this solution proves to be favourable as it doesn't destroy the taste of the salt at all. Also, since this solution does not include any acid, the salt doesn't go rancid either. So long as the kosher salt remains un-saline, it can maintain its nutritional value and thus its taste.
In addition, table salt and sea salt are both derived from the earth's surface. When the materials are excavated from the earth, they are usually exposed to air and weather conditions. This causes a gradual change in the chemical composition of the materials, including the rate of which they lose sodium and magnesium, the amount of carbon dioxide released as a by product, and the amount of iodine released as a result. As a result, the salt's mineral content can vary greatly over time, resulting in different colours and flavours. Sea salt and table salt on the other hand are made out of salt rocks that were excavated from the seas. Unlike the earth's surface, the waters from the seas contain all types of minerals that do not react to the changes that take place as they are being excavated.
The kosher sea salt of the Oregon Coast can only be produced when its salt crystals are formed under ideal conditions. In order for the flakes to be formed, there must be plenty of sunshine, an alkaline environment, and high temperatures. When these conditions are present, a very special type of technology called flake finishing salt is used in order to produce the most desirable salt product.