What is kosher salt, and why do (American) chefs love it?

[aragusea]

Hi everybody, I've heard some concerns, so let me make something really clear: Rendering meat kosher is a complicated process of which this salting procedure I demonstrate in the video is simply one phase. As I mentioned in the vid, there's the butchering process to consider, and more. This video is not about how to make meat compliant with Jewish dietary law — it only engages with that topic in as much as it is relevant to the historical origins of "Kosher salt" as a marketing term for coarse salts, which is what the video is about. If you really want to learn how to make food suitable for a religion, I am not your man!

Here's one thing I think I got wrong: OU regards Morton table salt as "not Kosher for Passover, " which is a much more specific and narrow designation than "not Kosher." And certainly iodine is not the only factor they consider there, which is why I said the salt is not Kosher "for a few reasons." Writing these videos is always a balancing act between giving enough context to maintain accuracy, and cutting out details that would make the video last forever. I often have to use phrases like "one of the reasons" or "among other things" to communicate that what I'm mentioning is part of a much bigger thing, but it's not the particular thing we're talking about today. Regardless, "not Kosher for passover" is a much more specific thing than "not Kosher" — that much I definitely got wrong.

And certainly, don't come to me looking for authentic Hebrew pronunciations! As always, I generally try to use the most proximate anglicization for non-English words. Whether I got to the closest proximate anglicization on Chabad, I'm not sure! I'm hearing no? [UPDATE] The consensus below seems to be that "h" is a better anglicization than my "sh" for the throaty Hebrew "ch."

If anybody has more concerns along these lines, I'll try to update this pin accordingly.

[Heylollie]

THANK YOU! I'm Australian and this whole kosher salt had me thinking Americans baptised their salt into different religions, and wondering why the heck that would be a thing.

[NomenNescio]

As a European, this kosher salt thing have been a great mystery for me.

Thank you very much for explaining!

[yamnitsky]

Important correction: *all* salt is Kosher, by definition; the iodized version isn't kosher *for Passover* which is very different from not being kosher. Passover has its own set of dietary laws, and a lot of things that are kosher year round aren't kosher for Passover, e.g. leavened bread :)

[awesomesam]

Adam has a preternatural knack for finding video topics that I didn't know I wanted to learn about until I read the title.

[LiangPanda]

I think these advantages of kosher salt are mostly from the fact that you are handling the salts in a way more optimal for kosher salt - pinching them, and this most likely comes from habit of using kosher salt. As someone using exclusively table salt, I never pinch salts. If I use shaker on the table side, I have pretty good feeling of how much salt comes out each shake. For cooking, I have little container of salt with little spoon, so consistent measurement and application is never a problem.

[barbarag]

Thank you. I’m from England and I’d never heard of kosher salt until I came to the US and I’ve been very curious about what it was and you’ve helped me tremendously. By reading through your own comments, it seems that many people have been very critical and I feel sad about that. You were trying to be helpful and you were. Thank you!

[newthrash]

I assumed kosher salt was called "kosher" because it wasn't iodized. I never knew it was coarse due to the reasons you explained. As a professional cook, I always understood that we used coarse salt (kosher or sea salt) was because it was easier for us to control the amounts we use when salting food with our hands. Iodized salt has smaller grains so it's really much harder to control and eyeball the actual amount of sodium we're using in our dishes.

[enricbf]

In Spain it's just called "sal fina" (fine/smooth/thin salt) and "sal Gorda" (fat/thick salt)

[elliejohnson]

I hear this word non-stop from Binging with Babish and have actually unironically literally never heard of it in my entire life outside of that context of his youtube channel.

[jordandale]

I'm so glad I found this channel. It combines cooking with science and history while still being entertaining. I'm a decent cook, but, I'm learning so much.

[matthewcollinsangler]

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to explain kosher salt. I had no idea why all American recipes asked for it as in the UK and Europe we’ve never heard of it! Here in France “sel de guerande” is the go to choice for home cooks and chefs. For final seasoning we use “fleur de sel” and it really does taste of the sea.

[zoltanpataki]

As a European, I really like about your video that you go the lenght and explain the differences between the US and European customs and naming. I miss that from other videos. You do really cater to a public on both sides of the Atlantic. (Edit: a letter, as suggested)

[StockDoctortrade]

Before I found your channel I would have been surprised to see someone talk about salt for 16 minutes

[epgui]

I wish we'd just keep the "kosher" out of it and call it what it is: coarse salt. This would really emphasize what the value proposition is, and might even help dispel some popular-but-incorrect beliefs about healthiness.

[jenniferharman]

My husband worked in a large salt field area for 26 years. Sodium Chloride is salt as you said. Pink, white, blue or green, all the same basically. Interesting explanation, thanks!

[johannesklein]

As a european, who loves to cook and has read a lot of American recipes, that was the single greatest piece of cooking-knowledge I’ve ever seen! I have always wondered what kosher salt was and couldn’t by the love of it, find anything online that would explain it. Until now! So thank you!

[metropolitanpolice]

I'm a european chef and I've always used flaky salt for salt curing for the reasons stated but I was always so confused as why some salt was jewish and some wasn't. thanks

[dharuacharya]

I'm always blown away by all your home work and research for your videos. Very informative and much appreciated. Thank you Sir.

[Cropcircledesigner]

10:55 had me going "USE A SPOON, YOU MANIAC"