Salt is one of the most important ingredients in every dish. Its absence can easily be noticed since the food won’t taste that good without salt. Aside from being a pantry essential, it also does a lot in maintaining proper body functions such as regulating blood pressure and promoting proper nerve and brain functions.

When doing the grocery, you might find a lot of different salt type on the shelves which can make it really confusing which one you should buy. Although they look different from each other, salt is basically made of sodium chloride. Read along to know more about the different types of salts for cooking.

Table Salt

Table salt is the most common type of salt in every pantry. It comes from salt deposits under the ground and is evaporated to create a fine ground texture. It is easy to use and pour because of its fine texture. There are other varieties with added iodine to help prevent iodine deficiency. This variant may have a slightly chemical taste but the added benefit is really helpful. Table salt is perfect for cooking and baking so you should always have this in your pantry.

Sea Salt

Based on the name, sea salt is made by evaporating sea water. Unlike table salt, sea salt is more irregular in shape and has a coarse texture because of less processing methods it undergoes. It also contains other minerals such as copper and magnesium making it a lot different in taste. Sea salt is perfect in cooking especially in salting seafood, and meats because of its unique flavours.

Grey Salt

Grey salt, also known as Selgris or Celtic Sea salt comes from the sea shores in France. Unlike regular sea salt, it has a greyish colour and is very rich in other minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. It is also chunkier in texture compared to regular sea salt, making it perfect for pickling, grinding, or just seasoning fish and meat. Aside from cooking, selgris can also be used as a detoxifying bath salt.

Kosher Salt

Kosher salt is another great salt for cooking. It doesn’t contain any additives however; it has a coarser and flakier texture compared to other salt types. This type of salt is raked after evaporation, giving it the natural rough texture, it has. This salt is typically used in koshering meat process, thus, the name. Because of its bigger flakes, it clings perfectly to the meat surface making it more convenient to use in koshering.

Himalayan Pink Salt

It is known as the purest form of salt in the whole world and comes from the Himalayan Mountains. Himalayan pink salt contains traces of iron, giving it its distinct pinkish colour. It has very large granules that are irregular in shape and is perfect for adding more nutritional content to your dishes because of its rich mineral content.

Those were just some of the common salts that are used by many people for cooking. Explore the others and find the perfect salt that suits your cooking style the most.