Text 24144, 81 rader
Skriven 2012-04-27 13:29:00 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Dave Drum
Ärende: KOSHER SALT  20426
==========================
 -=> Quoting Dave Drum to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> One of these days I will try brining..... and so what is special about
 GJ> kosher salt?  I have never seen it in our shops.

 DD> More than you ever wanted (or expected) to know about Kosher salt --
 DD> The third paragraph is the answer to your specific query.

 DD> Sodium chloride -- aka salt -- is a crystalline compound that comes
 DD> from the oceans. Salt can be harvested from seawater through
 DD> evaporation, or it can be mined from inland deposits left by ancient
 DD> oceans. Most salt we use in our kitchens and dining rooms is mined,
 DD> except salt sold as "sea salt," which comes from  seawater. (UDD note:
 DD> *ALL* salt, at root, is sea salt - that is, it originally precipitated
 DD> from sea water.) 

All of our salt comes from evaporation ponds, a few km up the coast
from here, and a few other places around the country.  No salt mines.

 DD> Different types of salt are created during the refining process. Some
 DD> varieties include additives that make them flow freely through salt
 DD> shakers, and others have added iodine, which can prevent
 DD> hypothyroidism. Most are ground into very fine grains, but a few types
 DD> are left in a more natural form made of large, rocky crystals.

That stuff, unrefined dry sea, just as bulldozed from the ponds, is
used to regenerate water softeners.

 DD> Fine-grained salts include table salt, iodized salt, pickling salt, and
 DD> popcorn salt. Rock salt and kosher salt are coarse-grained. Sea salt
 DD> can be found in both fine and coarse forms. While all of these taste,
 DD> well, salty, the degree of saltiness and the precise flavor can vary.

 DD> Kosher salt usually has no additives, and it has big crystals with
 DD> large surface areas. This size and shape allows it to absorb more

Big crystals have a much lower surface area than the same quantity of
small crystals, but I would expect a larger quantity of large crystals
could be persuaded to stick to the fish or other animal.

 DD> moisture than other forms of salt, and this makes kosher salt excellent
 DD> for curing meats. That is essentially where the name comes from. The
 DD> salt itself is not kosher, meaning it doesn't conform to Jewish food
 DD> laws, but this salt is used to make meat kosher. The Jewish holy book,
 DD> the Torah, prohibits consumption of any blood, which is why kosher meat
 DD> must be slaughtered and prepared in a specific manner. A common way of
 DD> removing the final traces of blood from meat is to soak and salt it.

I get the idea.

 DD> That's not the only use for kosher salt, however. The flavor is
 DD> distinct from ordinary table salt, and some cooks prefer to use it in

Why would the flavour be different if it is nothing but pure NaCl?

 DD> all their cooking. Like other coarse salts, kosher salt can be used in
 DD> recipes that call for a salt crust. You can even use it to salt the
 DD> edge of a margarita glass. 
 DD> Nutritionally speaking, kosher salt is no different than table salt,
 DD> although it does not provide iodine. The human body needs salt to
 DD> regulate the electrolyte balance inside and outside of its cells. But
 DD> studies have shown that diets low in salt lower a person's blood
 DD> pressure. As with many health issues, scientists and doctors don't
 DD> universally agree on the health benefits and problems related to salt
 DD> intake.  

My SIL likes salt, and has high blood pressure...  I dislike much salt
and sugar, and I don't.

 DD> http://ask.yahoo.com/20030310.html

 DD> ... Now, look, "Union" is spelled with 5 letters. It is not a
 DD> four-letter word.

Today is Union Day in Tanzania, commemorating the union with Zanzibar
in 1964.

___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)