The Salt

This page is a brief discussion on choosing and measuring your salt.

I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. Kosher salt is often criticized for use in fermentation because it dissolves less readily and it lacks additional minerals. As you can see in the picture below, not all kosher salts are the same. DC kosher is a different shape and size from Morton’s kosher. I find it dissolves just fine.

Diamond Crystal (L) and Morton’s (R) kosher salts

If you prefer higher mineral content Celtic Sea Salt (below, L) and Redmond Real (below, R) are both good minerally options beloved by fermentistas. The Redmond Real salt leaves an undissolved sediment you will want to scrape into your ferment. Both of these are fairly pricey salt options and if the mineral content is not high on your priority list, then kosher is fine.

Do not use iodized table salt. This is the main rule regarding salt choice. Just as iodine inhibits infection on a wound it inhibits bacterial growth in your ferment. Moreover table salt often has anti-caking and other additives. Just don't. While we are in this topic, do check the ingredients of your salt. Even some sea salts have been over processed and have additives.

5 g of salt varies by volume and minerality

Samin Nosrat has a whole section on salt types and shapes in her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat . For fermentation the take away is this: Different salts have different shapes and therefore different weights by volume. For example, a teaspoon of Diamond weighs 2.8g but the same volume of Morton's weighs 4.8g. This basically means that Morton's is saltier by volume. To combat the different densities of different salts I try to use weight (in grams) not volume when measuring salt. That way I can substitute out various salts in a recipe. When I use another fermentista's recipe that utilizes volume I will measure out the salt and then convert to grams. Sometimes the conversion leaves me with a weird answer. Where this happens I explore it in the recipe.