I’ve been asked a number of times, “Why use kosher salt?”

There are a few reasons why, let me outline them for you.

Kosher salt is a type of coarse salt which is usually made without additives. The salt itself is not necessarily Kosher, but takes its name from the Kosher meat curing process. Kosher salt is ideal for certain cooking projects and is preferred to table salt by many professional chefs, because Kosher salt has a more mild flavor and the flaky crystalline structure of the salt helps it adhere to a variety of surfaces.

Like all salts, Kosher salt is a form of sodium chloride. Salt can be extracted from seawater by a direct evaporation process, or it can be mined from salt deposits under the Earth’s crust. Table salt is heavily refined so that it has a precise square shape, and iodine is usually added during the refining process. Kosher salt is allowed to remain a more coarse-grained salt, meaning that the structure of Kosher salt under a microscope looks like a series of cubes stacked on top of each other, rather than a single grain.

Kosher salt is not heavily refined or iodine treated, it has a salt flavor which many consider to be more pure. This is why it is favored for seasoning in many kitchens. The coarseness of the grain of Kosher salt also allows chefs to measure pinches of the salt with ease. Because of the large grain, kosher salt is not well suited to baking or table service, when fine grained salts are more appropriate.

In addition to being used for seasoning, Kosher salt is used to create salt crusts on baked fish, to create a salty rim on margarita glasses, and to rub meats along with other spices before cooking. Kosher salt is also used in pickling because the lack of iodine reduces the risk of discoloration and cloudiness. Most professional kitchens keep a stock of Kosher salt in small dishes around the kitchen so that it can be quickly and easily added to foods.

Hola,

Yeah, I know it’s been awhile since I posted anything here. Most of you missed the chili recipe last month. You need to try it!

Salsa Fish

This is soooo easy! Recipe? We don’t need no stinkin’ recipe! At least not a formal one.

I used frozen tilapia fillets for this. You can use any good mild whitefish fillet though. Decide how many pieces you are serving to each of your guests.

Lay out each fillet on your cutting board, salt and pepper each side.

Slice a medium/large onion into 1/8-inch slices.

Get some heavy duty foil and take enough out to make a good sized cooking device. Place the sliced onions to form a bed for your fish to rest on.

Place the fillets on the onion bed. A bed of onions, does that sound wonderful or what?

Now, spoon salsa onto the fillets, I used a mango-lime salsa since I had a jar in the cupboard. I used a regular serving spoon to do this. Each fillet took about a spoonful of salsa.

I sprinkled pepita (pumpkin seeds) on top of the salsa for a little bit of crunch when eaten.

If you have some fresh herbs, cilantro, flat leaf parsley, basil, etc. feel free to place some on top now.

Carefully fold the foil up around the fillets to make a packet. Make sure to not fold it too tightly. You want room in the packet to let steam form to cook the fish.

I cooked mine on the grill, took about 25 minutes. Make sure the fish is cooked completely. When I cooked this, the salsa had managed to escape the packet in spite of being folded up. I took that as a sign of it being good and hot.

And boy, the fish was hot, flavorful, and delicious!

Served with grilled corn on the cob and fresh zucchini medallions.