612152 Wed Apr 15 00:11:39 -0700 2009 14 31 Home Cooking 0 4596996 I only use sea salt and kosher salt, so I rarely if ever buy regular table salt. I have some that is probably 4 years old. At the rate I use/need it, I hate to buy more. I need maybe a teaspoon or two to bake several batches of cookies. Is my salt still good? Wed Apr 15 00:11:39 -0700 2009 175667 Canthespam 1 4597001 You could take the Biblical approach. Taste it. If it has lost its saltiness, throw it out. :) Wed Apr 15 00:21:03 -0700 2009 4596996 12139 paulj 2 4597069 If salt loses it's saltiness - what would you call it :-) Wed Apr 15 02:42:48 -0700 2009 4597001 175667 Canthespam 3 4597666 Commentators have been dancing around that one for some time. Wed Apr 15 08:10:53 -0700 2009 4597069 12139 paulj 1 4597104 Plain salt as you describe, kept dry, has an indefinite shelf life. No need to buy more. Seasoned salt is an entirely different matter; treat as any other dry spice. Wed Apr 15 04:08:17 -0700 2009 4596996 95137 mcsheridan 1 4597136 The natrified mummies of ancient Egypt seem to be of general consensus that salt lasts a pretty long time. It doesn't go bad. Baking powder, on the other hand, is hygroscopic, so it quickly absorbs water from the air, thus diminishing its power to give a leavening burst when rehydrated. It's best stored in a tight mason jar and replenished 6 months after unsealing. Wed Apr 15 04:47:41 -0700 2009 4596996 17562 FoodFuser 1 4597170 It's a stone, not a living thing. It doesn't go bad unless it's compromised by moisture. Wed Apr 15 05:10:50 -0700 2009 4596996 13819 Karl S 2 4597297 I have been using the same box of kosher salt for the past ten years, just had some this morning on my hard boiled eggs and it still has the saltiness... Wed Apr 15 06:16:07 -0700 2009 4597170 24648 Sean 3 4597778 You must not cook very often. Or you have a massive box of salt. Wed Apr 15 08:40:50 -0700 2009 4597297 280462 Squirrels 4 4598052 Thanks for the info - I was planning on going door to door asking for teaspoons of salt :-) Wed Apr 15 09:53:31 -0700 2009 4597778 175667 Canthespam 4 4611190 I cook all the time, it is bizarre how long that box has lasted... Mon Apr 20 09:00:28 -0700 2009 4597778 24648 Sean 5 4611789 Yeah, those kosher salt boxes are huge. Mon Apr 20 11:29:27 -0700 2009 4611190 123744 karykat 1 4597311 salt is a mineral -- it lasts forever. even if it gets wet, it will eventually dry out and then be fine. there is no reason you can't bake with kosher salt instead of table salt -- professional kitchens and bakers do not use table salt. it has a bitterness that some people can detect. use your table salt as an environmentally safe scrub (instead of ajax or comet) and use it up that way. Wed Apr 15 06:20:41 -0700 2009 4596996 30273 hotoynoodle 2 4612119 If you opt to bake with kosher salt, make sure to adjust your recipes that call for regular table salt. The grains of kosher salt are bigger, leading to you needing slightly more kosher salt to get the same amount of saltiness in a given volume of table salt. That said, I'm not sure off the top of my head what the conversion factor is. Mon Apr 20 12:55:41 -0700 2009 4597311 39900 GilaB 1 4612143 Forever, unless it's contaminated. But that's unlikely: it won't attract insects, rodents, bacteria. Salt is used as a preservative... So, as long as it's been kept clean, it's perfectly good. Mon Apr 20 13:00:55 -0700 2009 4596996 19782 Full tummy