salt grinders: essential or pretentious?

[thinks too much]

I understand the value of freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or any spice where the essential oils dissipate over time. But what is the purpose of grinding salt? It's a mineral that should not change with time provided it is stored in a low humidity environment, so I can't imagine that it for a fresh taste. I keep 4 different siza and style of salt crystals: kosher, coarse grain sea salt, rock salt and some Morton's iodized lurking somewhere, so I think I've got most bases covered. Opinions?

[Ruth Lafler]

I've noticed in the past couple of months that they're starting to sell salt in disposable grinders. I'm using one because I no longer buy regular table salt and even the fine sea salt I was using was clogging the holes on my regular salt shakers. I don't use it while I'm cooking, but I do use it when the food needs salting after plating (I'm fine using a salt dish, but my Dad absolutely hates them). I'll look into getting one of the Ikea ones for the table, though.

[ali patts]

Can't be bothered to wash the pestle and mortar everytime I want fine salt. Table salt is disgusting. Therefore I have a salt grinder. I actually have two, one for the kitchen and a pretty one on the table.

[nancyhudson]

i use a small mortar and pestle exclusively for salt - never need to wash it!

[operagirl]

I like using a salt grinder for salting raw tomato slices. The ground salt comes out of the grinder in uneven shards and bits, making for crunchy bursts of salty flavor. Can't get that from a shaker!

[foiegras]

But you can get it from a pig ;)

[operagirl]

I thought a pig served exactly the same purpose as a shaker, except for coarser salt that couldn't fit through a shaker's holes. Not the same as irregularly shaped bits of salt that come out of my grinder!

[jfood]

I have a salt grinder next to my pepper grinder for getter meats ready for the grill. Granted I use it a lot less than the pepper mill and find a good shaker with some good old fashioned kosher salt in it, but when I'm looking for a fine grind with the intensity of the sea salt I'll grab the mill.

If anyone gets impressed with, or calls pretentious, a salt grinder, pepper mill or any other kitchen gadget gotta give it up please.

[HillJ]

Funny, I always thought a salt grinder was only needed because buying salt in rock form would not breakdown easily any other way. In other words if you're going to use salt in rock form, you're going to need a grinder.

[HaagenDazs]

Well you're right. It would be wise to grind rock salt no matter if you have a grinder or not - mortar and pestle, food processor, etc. You can certainly put rock salt directly on food, but why would you. It's huge. It would fall off the item you're cooking before doing any good. And just to clarify, we're talking true "rock" salt where the crystals are .5 cm or so, not a coarse grained salt where the crystals are still relatively large compared to say, iodized salt, but still small enough to hang onto the food item you're cooking.

[MakingSense]

No one ever seems to mention the question of iodine in salt.
It began to be added to ordinary table salt some time ago in an effort to prevent goiters, which were very common in some populations in the US who lived far from the coasts and didn't consume foods in which it naturally occured, such as fish. This is now a very, very rarely seen disease and there's no longer any reason to use iodized salt.
Morton's Salt, marketed with the slogan "When it rains, it pours," contains anti-caking agents as do many other plain table salts. Kosher salts, of course, can't contain "adulterations" due to religious restrictions; they have coarser grains then plain table salt and consequently measure differently when used for recipes.
Both plain table salt and Kosher salt are mined from deposits of salts from ancient dried sea water. In a sense they are prehistoric sea salt.
The subtle variations among the sea salts which we seek out for their flavor depend on the trace minerals in the waters from which they are taken or various substances or scents which are added.
At their most basic, all salts are NaCl - sodium cloride - with the addition of something and/or variations in crystal size. It's up to us to decide whether the price difference is worth it or lost somewhere in the soup.

[ML8000]

Iodine is also known to add to brain function in the developmental years. There was a NY Times article how one of the central Asian countries made iodine in salt and the benefits were astounding, esp. given the cost, pennies per ton.

[srgoodman]

It's a common misconception that Kosher salt never contains additives. Even the Salt Institute makes this error on their web site. However, Kosher salts can, and some do, contain additives. Morton's Kosher Salt, for example, contains Yellow Prussiate of Soda (Sodium Ferrocyanate) as an anti-caking agent.

[rcianci]

Which is why I get Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. It only contains salt.

[shindiganna]

Keep it simple: a few grains of rice to the salt shaker keeps it free flowing. No need for another uni-tasker...

If anyone asks tell them what my Sicilian grandmother told me: its for good luck and prosperity....

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

I bought a set of s & p grinders from my coworker's kid for one of those school fund raisers. I've had them for about 5 years now because they looked cute but their practicality has won me over. I love having a coarser grind of salt rather than the finer table salt. It also eliminates my need of having both a sea salt container and a table salt container.

[TonyO]

If you have access to the Nantucket grinders (salt and pepper), they are excellent. Durable, functional, and reasonably priced.

[cyberroo]

I'm surprised to have found people who've been successful with a salt grinder. I went through 2 or 3 relatively expensive ones, but inevitably they corroded from the salt within a year.

Of course, I lived in San Francisco with the notorious fog and humidity, so that may make the difference.

[allegro805]

My mother told me she saw somewhere that there are "salt grinders" specifically made to withstand the corrosion -- in other words, you can't just buy a regular peppermill type thing and put salt in because it will corrode. I was a little skeptical, but who knows -- I noticed in Williams-Sonoma there are grinders specifically labeled as SALT grinders, so it's probably true.

[jillp]

Perhaps the burrs are plastic, rather than metal, so they won't corrode.

[rcianci]

The grinding mechanism in ours is made from ceramic. We have two. One for coarse rock salt. One for a special sea salt my wife uses. I also keep a salt pig filled with kosher salt by the stove for cooking. Don't judge me. :)

[cyberroo]

Yea, we went through actual salt mills, bought from Williams Sonoma, labeled salt mills.

Of course, my sister bought me about 8 kinds of salt for christmas, plus I brought back hawaiian pink salt, so we might need to reinvest in a salt mill again. A lot of the salts currently in my cupboard are too chunky to use as is.

[Candy]

But the plastic was worthless. It could not grind.

[HaagenDazs]

Exactly, of course there are. Maybe that's why people are so opposed to them!!! People who put salt into metal grinders are only asking for corrosion. Manufacturers who suggest and/or sell metallic based grinders are like folks selling fake Rolex watches in NYC - sure they look good to start with but give it a week and you're going to end up with a rusty piece of metal! Take a science class from 5th grade and you can figure that one out. Salt grinders are not made for kosher salt, they are not made for Fleur de Sel, they are not made for ham and they are not made for Sam (little Dr. Suess joke there). They are made specifically for large rock salt. Salt grinders should be made from plastic or ceramic - neither of which will oxidize and eith of which are acceptable.

[ML8000]

I live in the East Bay, around a mile from the bay, not as damp as SF but still an issue. I found the Ikea $6-7 buck spice grinder w/ ceramic wheels/gears to be very good.

I had one for pepper for a year plus and my sense from using it often was that it would last. It works so well, hasn't gone mushy or rusted, so I got one for salt. I figured for $7 bucks even if it failed after a couple of years it would be worth it.

BTW, a few grains of uncooked rice (non-converted) helps absorb the moisture in salt shakers.

As for pretentious, maybe on the table but I only use it in the kitchen. Different sea salts (Hawaiian, red, etc.) do seem to add something to meat, poultry and fish. ...your mileage may vary...

[allegro805]

I prefer the sea salt over the 'granulated' type (even though I doubt in a taste test ANYONE would really know the difference), but I'm not about to sprinkle such big chunks on my food and don't want to grind it in a mortar and transfer to some other container, so keeping the sea salt in a grinder seems easier.

By the way, I got very irritated putting Trader Joe's grey "French" sea salt in my grinder, then finding out it was damp and wouldn't go through the grinding mechanism. Took a long time to clean it out. A big mess. Also, it didn't really help trying to "dry" out the salt on a cookie sheet in a low oven.

[IndyGirl]

Why do you want it to be dry?

[Kelli2006]

the only use for a salt grinder is to make money for Pampered chef.

I filled mine with white peppercorns.

[foiegras]

I have never had a salt grinder, and have never been given reason to believe I'm missing out ;) In my mind the whole point of fleur de sel is the texture, so I certainly wouldn't grind it ...

[jillp]

Count me as another who donated a salt grinder; we now get out the mortar and pestle and do it ourselves. My current salt grinder is named jackp and he is utterly essential.

[leanneabe]

I don't know about essential, but mine is certainly convenient. I keep a salt pig with sea salt on my stove for cooking, but I have a salt/pepper grinder from Crate & Barrel for seasoning when we eat at the table. It it split vertically into two compartments with whole peppercorns in one side and rock salt or coarse sea salt (depending on what I refill it with) in the other. You crank it one way for pepper and the other way for salt. You can adjust the size of the grind, but it adjust for both salt & pepper, not individually.

I like it - I can grab one thing and carry both salt and pepper to the table. I know they have pepper grinders with salt shakers on top, but I think it's too easy to shake out too much salt with those. With mine, I do have a tendency to pepper first and then salt, since you get a little residual when you switch directions and I'd rather have more pepper than salt on my food.

[HaagenDazs]

I personally don't use one, but I think they are perfectly acceptable. It's just another way to use and store salt. You (and me) store salt in a salt pig or small container, right? What's the difference in storing it in a salt grinder? Other folks might think it's foolish to store salt in one vessel, transfer to another to grind (mortar & pestle) and then possibly transfer it to yet another vessel for storage or use. I mostly use kosher salt, but for larger rock salts I think it's great. It also makes for a very acceptable and convenient way of serving salt in a dining/restaurant table setting when inferior iodized salt is undesirable. I have much more respect for a person with a salt grinder on their table as opposed to a salt shaker.

[nancyhudson]

i, too, gave up on the salt mill and strictly use a mortar & pestle for grinding my salt.

[Candy]

If I need to grind salt I do it in my mortar. My DH's mom gave us one years and years ago. It was glass and the grinding ball never did much. It finally went to the Good Will.

[The Dairy Queen]

I have no idea, but I think they look so cute together on the table, the coarse sea salt grinder and pepper grinder. However, I, too, would like to know.

~TDQ