Is Salt Good for You?

Everyday salts, like table, kosher, and sea salt, are the workhorses of your kitchen, and it’s perfectly fine if you just want to stick with those. But it can be fun to experiment with specialty options, like Maldon or smoked salt. Just like spices, each type of salt can have its own intriguing taste. Minerals like magnesium and potassium contribute flavor and color to salt (although the amounts aren’t high enough to benefit your health). This guide will help you choose the right salt for your needs. Then see our tips below for the best ways to use salt in cooking and to flavor foods.

Even a small amount of salt has flavor superpowers. It can balance bitter and sour notes in food and enhance savory and sweet ones, says Naomi Duguid, author of “The Miracle of Salt” (Artisan, 2022). Think of how a dash in a caprese salad offsets the tomatoes’ acidity and plays up their natural sugars. Salt can add palate-pleasing contrast to sweet foods, which is why treats like chocolate pretzel cookies and caramel-miso ice cream are popular. Salt also alters texture: It tenderizes ingredients and helps create that satisfying crust on seared meats and roasted veggies. When it’s a final flourish, the crunch from larger crystals gives a dash of sensory appeal. Knowing the best ways to add salt will help you use it more efficiently and deliciously

Meat: For better browning, pat steak dry and sprinkle on coarse salt just before you plop it into the pan. Some cooks salt tougher cuts such as brisket ahead of time to tenderize them; others don’t think it’s necessary. If you decide to, use about 1 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of meat and let it rest for 30 minutes per ½ inch of thickness, Duguid says. To season ground meat (beef, pork, or poultry), mix in about ½ tablespoon of kosher salt per pound.

Soups, sauces, and braises: Working in your preferred salt throughout the process of cooking liquids creates a more complete flavor, says Stephen Chavez at the Institute of Culinary Education. It can also reduce the sharpness of strongly flavored ingredients like onion and kale.

Vegetables: In addition to softening potent flavors, salt breaks down plant fibers to shorten cooking. To keep watery veggies like eggplant and zucchini from getting mushy, sprinkle with kosher or fine salt about 10 minutes before cooking, then pat dry.

Pasta: Nonna was right: Salting the water gives pasta flavor. Go with a tablespoon of table or fine sea salt—they dissolve fastest—for every 4 quarts of water and 1 pound of pasta. It won’t absorb much: Some research shows that when pasta is cooked in about that same amount of salted water, it has no more than 130 mg of sodium per cup.

Grains: To bring out the nutty flavors in brown rice and farro, toast them in a pan, then add water seasoned with around a teaspoon fine or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt per cup of uncooked grain.

Eggs: Adding a pinch of kosher or sea salt before whisking for a scramble or an omelet helps loosen protein bonds. “This creates fluffier eggs,” Chavez says. Let the whisked egg sit for a few minutes to allow the salt to dissolve.

Seasoning food right before you eat it gives the most potent hit of salinity, and it doesn’t take much. When salt is on the surface of a food, your tongue immediately registers the taste of the crystals, says Christopher Loss, PhD, the Louis Pasteur Lecturer in food science at Cornell University. That’s the reason potato chips taste salty but may have less sodium than you might think. Follow these strategies for perfect results.

Taste, then salt. You might find that a food doesn’t need any. And it could help you assess whether adding something acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar, or spices would satisfy your flavor craving.

Tap into texture. The bigger crystals in flake salt and coarse sea salt give a pronounced pop of flavor (along with a pleasing crunch) on baked potatoes or sliced cucumbers. Given that finely ground salts cover more surface area, they’re best for foods where you want saltiness in every bite, such as popcorn and french fries.

Skip the shaker. It’s hard to judge how much you’re shaking out. For better control, pour a bit into your palm. Or grab a pinch from a dish with your thumb and two forefingers.

Aim high. “Sprinkle on salt from a few inches above the food,” Chavez says. “This spreads it out for even distribution.” Start with a small amount, taste, and add more if needed.