535681 Sat Jul 05 09:04:31 -0700 2008 3 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3840701 In the United States we have been using iodized table salt for years, in part to reduce thyroid problems. Is the increased use of kosher and sea salt opening us up to thyroid problems? If not, why is it still added to table salt? Sat Jul 05 09:04:32 -0700 2008 10614 blewgo 1 3841536 Asked my endocrinologist about that and he said that today we have better access to iodine containing foods. Fish, oysters, clams, all sorts of good stuff. Iodized salt is still on store shelves because it's what people have been trained to buy for generations. Sea salt has plenty of natural iodine in it. Kosher salt doesn't. Eat your seafood and don't worry about it. '-) Sat Jul 05 19:47:21 -0700 2008 3840701 112096 Caroline1 1 3841573 Most Americans get plenty of iodine (recommended about 150mcg/day) from vegetables and seafood. It's especially helpful that today most of us do not only eat vegetables from their local area (thanks to canned and frozen vegetables). The iodine content of vegetables varies, with vegetables from the Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest so deficient that those areas had, in the early 20th century, a high incidence of goiter due to iodine deficiency. Because the amount the average person gets from other dietary sources, including iodized salt used in restaurants, is more than enough to prevent the disease, there may be little or no need to worry about ensuring supplemental iodine. Sea salt should also have a significant amount of iodine. However, there is an ongoing effort to ensure that we don't lose the progress we have made in providing supplementary iodine to those who may benefit from it here in the US and in other areas of the world where local agricultural conditions do not provide sufficient dietary iodine. So ... Alton Brown uses Kosher salt for everything? Probably not going to create an epidemic of goiter. Though I can't detect any difference in flavor or performance, maybe he can. I know of no area in which ordinary table salt isn't available in both iodized and non-iodized versions, for those who have some reason to abstain from supplementary iodine.. Sat Jul 05 20:06:46 -0700 2008 3840701 14479 wayne keyser 2 3841592 I suspect you can taste the difference between salts but maybe haven't gone about it the right way. It's fun and educational! First taste sea salt. If you're doing it plush, do fleur de sel first, then regular sea salt. Next taste a grain or two of kosher salt. And finally, table salt. If you do it in reverse order, the table salt will anesthetize your taste buds! Don't do that. I do this progression regularly with guests who ask about the kosher and sea salt next to my cook top. They get a look on their faces like kids who have just found goodies under the Christmas tree! But I have to dig dep in the cupboard to give them a taste of table salt. Have fun! Sat Jul 05 20:16:07 -0700 2008 3841573 112096 Caroline1