Salt: It’s our most important ingredient, but it’s not as simple as it sounds

Ask any chef what is the single most important ingredient, and he or she will almost invariably give the same answer: salt. This once-precious mineral has the power to transform other ingredients in dramatic fashion. It can round off the edges of acidity and sweetness and it can instill harmony in diverse ingredients. It perks up meat dishes. It can bring oil and vinegar together to create the most basic of sauces, vinaigrette. The Italian word for salad, insalata comes from the Latin herba salata, which means salted greens. It is also essential for processing some of my favorite foods like bacon, ham, smoked salmon, olives and capers. A last minute sprinkling of salt on almost any food will liven up the flavor.
Speaking of chefs, why is it that some people complain that food is too salty in restaurants? We all taste salt differently and what some people experience as too salty, others will say it is not salty enough. Most good chefs season for the high average, which means that there are always going to be some who proclaim the chef has a heavy hand with the salt. Home cooks on the other hand tend to use salt for a lower salt-loving average, and many would feel the food is lackluster and not seasoned enough. I personally like food that is robustly salted and as a chef I was never timid in my use of it. Sure, I had some diners complain occasionally, but most people dining out like their food highly seasoned.
There are basically four types of salt: iodized granulated salt, kosher salt, refined sea salt and hand-harvested sea salt. Iodized granulated salt has other ingredients added to prevent caking and is the most processed and commonly available. It comes from underground salt deposits and can leave a chemical aftertaste. It is the only salt I don’t use. Kosher salt is a flakier version of salt that is primarily used for koshering meat and poultry, which means removing all blood before cooking. Some brands contain no additives and have a clean and lighter salt taste. Refined sea salt is simply seawater that is evaporated by the sun in large steel pans and washed with more seawater to remove the mineral coloring. Hand-harvested sea salt, commonly known by the French name “fleur de sel,” is the most expensive and is used more as a condiment and sprinkled on food at the last minute. Its briny flavor echoes the sea and adds a pleasant crunch to salads. It can range from light grey to white. In Hawaii it is red and is essential to the raw fish poke, along with sesame oil and seaweed.
In my kitchen I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt and refined sea salt for everyday cooking and save the expensive fleur de sel for salads or sprinkling on food at the table. I especially like the Camargue fleur de sel from France and Maldon sea salt from Britain with its large flaky crystals. Whatever salt I use, I keep it in little bowls so I can feel it with my fingertips and sprinkle it on the food.
I learned a neat trick from Eric Gower, chef and author of “The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen.” He grinds refined sea salt and maccha, the green tea powder from Japan, together in a spice grinder to make an electric green tea salt that I have sprinkled on deviled eggs. He has created other combinations like lavender salt and smoked paprika salt.
The role salt plays in hypertension is not clear. Our bodies need salt to survive, yet no one can say with any certainty how much is too much. Each person is different. Unlike refined salt, natural sea salt is full of minerals and naturally lower in sodium chloride. Perhaps this would be a better choice for those concerned about high blood pressure. When you have a choice, natural is always better.