I try to remember to specify in all my recipes that I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, and if you use any other salt, you should use half the amount listed in the recipe card. That’s not the case. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is unique, even compared to other kosher salts. It’s a favorite of chefs and, for years, was sold mainly to restaurants. Professionally trained chefs and self-taught high-profile cooks such as Ina Garten use it exclusively. They like it for three main reasons. Morton Kosher salt has large, dense crystals. Table salt crystals are tiny and difficult to pinch and distribute with your fingers. The same is true for most brands of sea salt. Redmond’s Real Salt, for example, has 530 mg of sodium in each ¼ teaspoon. At 458 mg per ¼ teaspoon, Celtic Sea Salt is less salty but still more than 1.5 times saltier than Diamond. If you look at the labels, you can see why - Diamond Crystal is not as dense as Morton or as tiny as table salt. Its crystals are light and fluffy. So, a teaspoon of it weighs far less than a teaspoon of other salts. I realize that most home cooks use table salt or Morton Kosher Salt (Diamond Crystal is working on changing that). I’m not trying to be difficult. It’s just that I’d gotten used to Diamond Crystal; I genuinely enjoy using it in my cooking.
