The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

The pink or black ones? The grayish sea salt from
Guérande in France that comes in big, moist clusters
or the white pyramid-shaped Maldon sea salt from
England? I have a bad habit of collecting them,
partly because they’re pretty and I like the way they
look on my food, but mostly just to compete with my
wife’s shoe collection. (One new salt per pair of
shoes seems to keep her shopping habit at bay.)
But what are they good for? These are all
finishing salts, salts that are meant to be applied just
before serving or even at the table. Despite claims to
the contrary, you’ll find that flavorwise, there is
almost no difference between these salts and regular
or kosher salt. Dissolve the same weights of the stuff
into glasses of water, and they all become essentially
identical. It’s their shape that makes them interesting
—the crunch and intense burst of, well, saltiness that
they provide. Think you won’t notice the difference?
Go out and get yourself a box of Maldon sea salt
(the finishing salt that I use most often), a box of
kosher salt, and a box of regular table salt, then
place three identical slices of ripe tomato on a plate
(or if you prefer, three identical slices of steak).
Sprinkle a bit of table salt on the first and eat it.
Next, sprinkle some kosher salt on the second and
eat it. Notice the difference? See how much more
easily you can sprinkle the salt evenly across the
surface of the food? Finally, sprinkle a few shards of
Maldon salt on the last and eat it. Notice the crackle
of salt crystals under your teeth and the