YOU GUYS ARE SWAMPING ME

[shaggy91954]

Maybe we should talk about pepper now................lol.

 

[susieqz]

timber, boring? i think this thread is kinda fun.

guess i like boring, or am boring.

heck. i've been cooking since i was 5 n never talked about it as much as you guys.

 

[timberjet]

You are right suze. I'm boring too! 

 

[susieqz]

shaggy, you gotta have an educated pallet to talk about  pepper. i've bot expensive top of the line peppercorns n couldn't tell the difference between it n the peppercorns i get  at the market.

to me, as long as you grind it yourself, it's all good.

 

[jarjarchef]

well, jar, i'm not gonna argue with someone with your knowledge base.
tell me what i can get from amazon to show me i'm  wrong. if i can afford it,  i'll try it.

I am sorry if you felt I implied you were wrong in any way. My wife asks me the same question about many ingrediants I have at home. And be honest there are times I stand in front of my shelves and wonder the same. Why so many diffrent types of several items......12 vinegars, 6 oils, 7 salts, 10 hot sauces, etc........ Mostly the answer is they were gifts, but some are for spacific recipes or a tasting adventure with one of my kids.

As a kid growing up we were not exposed to many of the things I have been in the past years as a Chef. So when I can try new things, I get very excited and want to share with my kids and wife. The girls are usually up for new things, the wife and son not so much. So I encourage anyone to try new things. When trying a new regional dish, try to get as many truely local ingredients as you can afford. My mom has a group of friends from high school that would have cooking parties. They would save for months sometimes to be able to use local products, is was in the 70's & 80's. It was very hard to get things, now with the internet it is much easier.

So I would say get what peeks your intrest. Maldon is one of my top 5.....did not see you have used that one.

I made a smoked siracha maldon salt that turned out amazing....

Jeramy

 

[welshrarebit]

I made a smoked siracha maldon salt that turned out amazing....

That sounds good!

I have some Hawaiian chili pepper salt in the pantry. I might make some of my own and smoke it...

 

[chef jimmyj]

The question is how many do I need? That is a personal choice. You need Iodine in your diet, you can eat more Seafood, Dairy, Fruits, Vegetables and Baked Goods made with Unbleached Flour (King Aurthur). Basically a Balance Diet from all food groups. 1 cup of Yogurt contains more Iodine (50% of your daily value) than the typical 1/4tsp Iodized Salt (37% DV) you sprinkle on your dinner, or buy Iodized Salt that can't be used for Pickling and some Brines, that's 0 or 1... You like the super fine Popcorn Salt, so there is 2. For Pickling and Brines, a Pure salt is needed. If your recipes go by Volume, depending on recipe, you need both as 1C of fine Pickling Salt can weigh 1.5 to 2X more than 1C of Kosher salt. If the salt is measured by Weight you only need one of these two because 1oz of salt is 1oz no matter what size it is. So that is 3 or 4 salts. Fancy hand harvested Sea Salt, Himalayan and Hawaiian. All have slightly different flavors and textures but with the exception of Hawaiian, if you cook or make brines, marinades, etc, with them you will probably not taste any difference unless you can taste in Parts Per Million. They only stand out, if at all, when used as a Finishing Salt or one that is sprinkled on foods, especially raw foods like salad, at the end of preparation to add some flavor but mostly texture, a little crunch in each bite. So you can pick one of these if you like " crunch " with every bite of food. If just for seasoning, skip it! So now we have either no addition or number 4 (depending on above) or 5, for crunch. Now Hawaiian Salt has a distinctive flavor and red color from the Alaea, clay in it. If you are making Poke, Kalua Pig or some other Hawaiian dishes that specifically call for this type, that is number 5 or 6. Geez I'm losing count! So that is it. Do some research on Salts and the Iodine content of food you probably already eat...http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iodine-HealthProfessional/ and make a decision. 

Me, I eat a balanced diet, bake with King Arthur Blue and Red label, use Morton Kosher Salt (7.5oz/Cup) for cooking, brines, etc and Fine La Baleine (Blue Label) Sea Salt at the table...Good Luck...JJ

 

[susieqz]

thank you, guys. advice from such knowledgable people is both awesome n heart warming.

cool to know king arthur has iodine. perhaps i can skip iodized salt.

 

[foamheart]

I am sorry if you felt I implied you were wrong in any way. My wife asks me the same question about many ingrediants I have at home. And be honest there are times I stand in front of my shelves and wonder the same. Why so many diffrent types of several items.....

Because I can!

My Mom's counter had salt, pepper, flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking soda and baking powder. There were no spices. I remember how amazed she was with garlic powder.....LOL

 

[donr]

I have some Iodized sea salt, I think Morton's makes it.

Morton's canning and kosher salt is chemically identical, just different grain size.  If you know weights/volume of each, just grind the kosher down finer so it disolves easier.

I buy extra coarse sea salt and use an adjustable salt grinder.

I have bought a few small things of different sea salts and can only tell the difference when I taste them straight.  When on food, they just taste salty.  Your milage may vary on this one.

If I know i am going to be using a lot of a certain grain size I will buy that specifically that project.

Don

 

[tucson bbq fan]

 
I was not in the least bit offended. I just like to try and use stuff that is unprocessed if at all possible. Pretty hard to do these days though. I think it is just silly to commercially clean all of the minerals out of the salt, dry at 1200 degrees, and then bleach the salt. This stuff is just hand washed and chopped up. It looks different than any salt I have ever seen before too. It is pink. It just may be a mind trick that I think it tastes better but who knows. I also try to use real flour if I can afford it at the time, real cheese etc..... I am not a yuppie either. Maybe I am just weird.

If you have ever driven by a commercial ocean salt operation - they are typically not the cleanest of operations.  Typically, they have large open areas below the level of the ocean/bay they are located at.  They open dikes to let the sea water in.  They then add iodine (usually) making these huge ponds pink.  Then the sun does it's thing and the water evaporates, and salt remains.  Then large front loaders are used to scoop it up and haul it into the processing plant, where there is grinding, sorting, some cleaning, etc.  The underground salt mines can skip the evaporation process, just "shovel" it up and process it.  Adding iodine to underground mined salt involves a liquid solution mixed with the salt, then artificially dried.  You will have different mineral residues in each kind of operation - more dependent on the location around the world.

Not much difference, but some marketing person got the bright idea to label some of their products "sea salt" and market it as better and get a higher price for it.

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
thank you, guys. advice from such knowledgable people is both awesome n heart warming.

cool to know king arthur has iodine. perhaps i can skip iodized salt.

Don't interpret this as meaning KA flour is a good source. It is just that Bleached Flour is Bromated which destroys the " small " amount of Iodine in wheat flour. KA is naturally aged so the small amount of Iodine remains. So remember, it is an overall Balanced Diet that supplies a sufficient amount of Iodine which gives you the option of using Iodized Salt or not...JJ

 

[welshrarebit]

Poke has lots of iodine! ;)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[susieqz]

poki looks great.

i now realize i'm not in danger of iodine shortage. most everything i eat is trucked in from all around. i hardly eat local produce unless my garden is going.i feel kinda dumb.