Worth It’s Salt: 20 Different Types of Salt

From a culinary perspective, Salt acts as an enhancer or augmenter of the food that it is used on. So how did we end up with so many different types of salt? Aren’t they all pretty much the same?

If you have never (or rarely) branched out from common table salt in your cooking, baking or in your food enjoyment, you are in for a treat as you explore our list of 20 different types of culinary salt we have identified as most prevalent in both availability and gustatory consumption.

Types of Salt

While gathering the list of all the types of salt I wanted to call to your attention, I realized that they really fell into a few different categories. Some of the most well known salts derive their name and their characteristic appearance and flavor enhancing capabilities from a particular place on the globe. Maldon salt is a great example of toponymy; it was a naturally occurring salt found near Maldon, England (although these days production is human-assisted to keep up with the demand, and Maldon is now considered a brand).

Another group in my list are generic salt terms like Sea Salt. Certainly all salt originated in ocean or sea water at some point in the distant past, but when the salt deposits are underground, dry, and have to be mined to get to them, they fall into a different category than salt that was more recently in the ocean.

The last group of salt types refer to their form: fine vs. coarse, flakey vs. grainy or cubes, pure vs. having additions.

So browse through the list to find your favorites, and potentially some new favorites!

Terms for Types of Salt

1 -Table Salt or Common Salt

Inexpensive. Ubiquitous. You find it on almost every dinner table and next to every cooking area on the globe. Tiny white cubes of Sodium Chloride are usually produced by accessing underground salt deposits and are finely ground to dispense easily from a salt shaker. In the US and many other countries, there are guidelines that assure that the salt meet health requirements for purity, so production methods such as Vacuum Evaporation and Solution Mining have been developed to meet quality and purity standards. The resulting salt is pure, dense, and as a consequence fairly bland or even harsh tasting.

2 – Sea Salt

Obviously, this is salt that comes from a sea or ocean, but since ALL salt came from an ocean at some point in history, Sea Salt infers that it was extracted somewhat recently. Typically it is harvested through evaporation, and tends to retain the trace minerals from the saltwater it was gathered from. The result is often less dense and coarser grained particles. The taste profile and appearance can vary quite a bit. We explore some of those differences in the ‘salt by place name’ section below. Another article that may be of interest when exploring sea salts is Sea Salt vs. Sea Salt Flakes: Understanding The Differences.

Sea salt – medium grained, this one has a slightly grey color.

3 – Kosher Salt

One of the interesting facts about Kosher Salt is that some of it isn’t actually certified kosher. The name does stem from the notion that salt looking like this salt was used for kashering: the process of making utensils or meat kosher, and that process used medium coarse grained white salt. The salt would absorb blood on the surface of meat – assisting in preservation and the dietary hygiene guidelines codified by kosher rules.

Another fun fact is that the two leading brands of kosher salt in the US (Diamond Crystal, Morton’s) produce their kosher salt by methods that are different enough that the amount of sodium in a volume of salt varies quite a bit. So when your recipe calls for a teaspoon of kosher salt, you may need to adjust that amount based on the brand of salt you have on hand. Of course, part of this has to do with how coarse the salt crystals are and how the crystals are formed, but here is a comparison:

If your recipe does not specify the brand (most don’t) you may want to start with less salt, then adjust later. You can’t take the salt out, and over-salting can certainly ruin a dish. If you’d like to more about sodium content in different types of salt, and how that affects measuring the right amount for a recipe, please see our article Salt Comparison Guide: Salt Sodium Content.

Kosher salt tends to be be very pure salt (few minerals), and to have no additives such as Iodine, but some kosher salts may have anti-caking agents. Check the label if this is important (such as in canning).

4 – Finishing Salt

Finishing salt is just that: the salt to put a finishing touch to your culinary creations! While you could use these kind of salts when preparing food or baking, it seems like a waste for most foods. The interesting flavor profiles of these salts deserve to be savored and part of the experience is the crisp feel of the salt crystals on top of each bite of grilled salmon or on a simple fried egg.

Several finishing salts appear on this page and are mentioned for that purpose in their description.

I have started using much less salt in the preparation of food, relying on finishing salt to give me the exact level of flavor enhancement as the food is eaten. I have no table salt on my table, just an array of finishing salts.

5 – Iodized Salt

The World Health Organization recommends that people consume at least 150 micrograms of iodide per day to prevent iodine deficiency and related health problems. Sea salt can contain traces of iodide, but most people get their daily dose from Iodized salt.

Confused about the difference between Iodine and Iodide? We cover that topic and evaluate Iodine in mined salts like Himalayan in this article: Details On Iodine In Himalayan Salt: What You Need To Know.

Unless a salt specifically calls out on the label that it is Iodized, you can assume that it is not a significant source of Iodine. Also Iodized salt is the exact same salt as Iodised salt – I’m guessing that is the British spelling?

6 – Pickling Salt

Also called Brining Salt, Curing Salt, or Canning Salt. This salt tends to have much smaller grains than kosher salt to allow it to dissolve quickly. It tends to be more dense (more sodium per volume) than kosher salt. The only other difference I could find is that this salt tends to not contain any anti-caking agents because they can cloud the liquid used in preservation.

If you are considering using Himalayan salt as a substitute in pickling, you may be interested in this article: Pickling Salt vs Himalayan Salt: What’s The Difference?

As an aside, I was curious about what the difference was in these food preparation methods. This is what I discovered:

• Pickling is preserving a food with salt (e.g. fermented pickles) -OR- preserving a food with acid (e.g. unfermented pickles)
• Brining is preserving or flavoring with salt (or both)
• Curing is a collective name which can describe brining, pickling or marinading (preserving or flavoring a food with acid instead of salt)

I’m not sure what you call it if your marinade contains both acid and salt. Tasty?

7 – Rock Salt

Rock salt is generic enough of a term that it overlaps with salt that is not intended to be eaten. Road deicing salt is often called Rock salt. Some people use this term interchangeably with kosher salt or even pretzel salt to denote the shape rather than the purpose. In general, rock salt is considered to be salt that is mined from underground salt deposits and that often contains impurities that would preclude using it at the dinner table.

The one culinary use that I know of for Rock Salt is Homemade Ice Cream: the salt is used to lower the freezing temperature of the ice and water mixture.

Types of Salt with Place Names

The place or location where a salt comes from can greatly affect it’s flavor and it’s ability to enhance a meal. I think of it almost like the French ‘terroir’: how the unique attributes of a place influence and shape the products made there.

8 – Himalayan Salt or Pink salt

Pink Himalayan salt primarily is sourced from huge, ancient salt deposits at the base of the Himalayan mountains in Pakistan. This type of salt contains small amounts of several minerals that are important to taste and trace amounts of dozens more minerals. Many people (including me) think is has a more complex, slightly earthy flavor, than table salt.

I’ve written a number of articles detailing the particulars of this very interesting salt, so instead of trying to summarize that here, I will link you to a few of the Pink Salt topics on this website:

• Comparing The Taste of Pink Himalayan Salt to Regular Salt
• Details On Iodine In Himalayan Salt: What You Need To Know
• Minerals In Himalayan Salt: Let’s See What’s In There
• Taste The Rainbow: How The Color Of Himalayan Salt Affects Its Flavor
• Himalayan Salt Blocks: A Unique Way To Season Your Food

9 – Maldon Salt

This salt is my current reigning favorite salt on this list. I had heard about it for years, seeing it called out in savory recipes and mentioned on menus in high-end restaurants, but I didn’t get around to trying it for myself until a few months ago. This Finishing Salt (see more about this category of salts below) has made a world of difference in my enjoyment of the food I eat, from eggs to hash browns to Salmon, it elevates the dining experience.

This salt is very much tied to it’s place in the world. Named for the place that it was found naturally occurring, Maldon, England, you can learn more about this salt in my article Maldon Salt: A Reason to Flake Out! I also have written about alternative choices for Maldon salt, in case this salt is difficult to find or if tariffs have you worried about the cost.

10 – Celtic Salt

Celtic Salt is a slightly grayish sea salt harvested off the coast of France. It’s refined less and offers a mild flavor, with some crystalline texture that’s a little more ‘gritty’ than Maldon’s flaky crystals. It has a nice array of trace minerals that allow it to stand up well to strong & meaty flavors. It is harvested from clay-lined salt ponds along the French coast, most via solar evaporation.

I know that when some people see the word Celtic, they associate it with Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but the Celts were an ancient people who originally came from central Europe, and put down roots on the coast of France before eventually expanding across the Channel. If this topic piques your interest, there is a extensive wiki article Celts.

11 – Sel Gris

Sel Gris is the French words for Grey Salt. What distinguishes this salt from Celtic Salt (above) or Fleur de Sel (below) is not the region that it comes from, but the location in the salt pond it is harvested from. This salt is dredged from the bottom of the salt pan, near the clay lining of the pond.

Look at how this Sel Gris coats the inside of the container! This is an un-opened jar of salt. Doesn’t this just look wonderfully natural, dense and flavorful?

12 – Fleur de Sel

This is the French term for ‘flower of salt’, and you also commonly see the Spanish version which is Flor de Sal. This refers to naturally harvested (evaporated) sea salt that is obtained near the surface of the water. This results in very light (non-dense) and flakey crystals that are easily crushed between your fingers. This salt is similar to Maldon salt in consistency and also makes a terrific finishing salt. The difference is in the location and the resulting difference in the mineral profile of the salt water used to produce the salts.

Hawaiian Salt

I’m going to focus on the two most well known Hawaiian salts for my list, but Hawaii also produces some very nice, white sea salt.

13 – Black Lava Salt

Hawaiian Black Salt is naturally evaporated sea salt that is mixed with activated charcoal primarily made from coconut shells. The actual connection to lava appears to be tenuous – maybe a bit of a marketing thing to get you to think of Hawaii’s black sand beaches (which do contain pulverized lava).

In any case, this is a stunning black tinted salt that makes a nice earthy finishing salt or a dramatic rim on a cocktail glass.

14 – Alaea Red Salt

Alaea is a naturally occurring Hawaiian red clay. It is rich in iron oxide and has been used for many purposes, including dyeing those ‘red dirt’ tee shirts. In this case, it is processed with sea salt as it evaporates, to create a pleasing reddish salt that has a mellow flavor and a grain size similar to kosher salt.

Here is my bag of Alaea Sea Salt – you can see the reddish color is a little more intense than what you typically see in pink Himalayan salt. The iron oxide (alaea) gives the salt a very smooth taste in my opinion and much of this salt gets sprinkled on edamame (and maybe some sesame oil … )

Here is a different brand of Alaea Red Sea Salt. As you can see, it can be a very dark red color!

15 – Kala namak

This salt is the one I am least familiar with, and the one that departs the most from being mostly sodium chloride.

Kala Namak was originally manufactured from materials in halite mines found near the Himalayan mountains in northern India. The Wiki entry goes on to describe “firing the raw salts in a kiln or furnace for 24 hours while sealed in a ceramic jar with charcoal … harad seeds, amia, bahera, babul bark, or natron”. The resulting salt is described as having “a sulphurous, pungent smell”. Sounds interesting!

This black salt has had chili flakes added for an extra burst of flavor!

Types of Salt by Form

16 – Flakey Salt or Salt Flakes

Salt flakes can be extremely flavorful just from the fact that they have lots of surface area and are not as dense as other forms of salt. They add texture, crunch and interest to food without tasting overwhelmingly salty.

This is an up-close view of Maldon Sea Salt flakes. Look at the crystal in the lower left corner of the picture! It is almost a perfect pyramid!

17 – Coarse Sea Salt

… or Medium Grained Sea Salt, or Fine Sea Salt. These terms simply refer to the grain size of a salt product. They also don’t necessarily restrict themselves to salt recently from the sea, as you can observe in the pink salt picture below.

Himalayan Pink Salt is available in a variety of different crystal or grain sizes. Here are three commonly available choices from medium to very large grains.

18 – Powder salt

Exceptionally finely ground salt, also called Popcorn salt or Flour salt. Typically this is the same salt as table salt, but it has been pulverized to create the very tiny, dusty grains used to lightly coat foods like Popcorn.

Types of Salt with Fun Additions

19 – Smoked Salt

Salt that has been flavored by being exposed to a wood fire is referred to as Smoked salt. The salt takes on the aroma of the wood used for smoking; typical choices are alder wood, mesquite, apple wood and more. The process often takes two weeks for the salt to absorb the smoke, so you’ll find that smoked salt prices will reflect the processing time & effort. Smoked salt is best used as a finishing salt – and is often used with meat or fish dishes.

If you’d like to know more about woods for Smoking salt, you can see our article Types Of Wood Used To Smoke Salt And Their Flavor.

Another unusual smoked salt that may pique your interest is Korean Bamboo salt. The salt is produced by placing it inside pieces of bamboo, and then smoking it over a pine wood fire many times. For more about this unusual salt, see Exploring The Fascinating World Of Korean Bamboo Salt.

20 – Seasoned Salt

There are so many wonderful ways to season salt, that it really deserves it’s own list. Herbs, dried vegetables (sun dried tomatoes and chilies come to mind) and even sometimes fruit or sugar are used to make interesting blends to top your food. Here is a short list of favorite to famous:

• Garlic Salt
• Rosemary Salt
• Chili Lime Salt (Tajín – BTW, see our Cocktail Rimming article Rimming With Flair: 15 Salt Rim Mixes for the Perfect Cocktail)
• Citrus Salt
• Truffle Salt
• Lawry’s – the classic & ubiquitous seasoning salt blend

There are a huge number of interesting seasoned salts to choose from – or consider making your own blend to get just the right flavor profile to suit yourself!

Salt Storage

Starting to accumulate some salt choices? Be sure to see Salt Storage: Choosing a Salt Cellar, Salt Grinder, and More to pick out the best salt cellar or best ceramic grinder for managing your salt selections!

Featured Photo by Victoria Zakharchuk.