Salt. We have more choices than ever it seems.

So what is the difference?

Are some salts really saltier than others?

The short answer is no.

The real answer is that bigger flakes have less salt per volume. The salt chart available in The Science of Good Cooking should help explain. The results were determined by weighing out each brand of salt per volume and scaling them so they all contain the same amount of salt by weight:

Brand Amount Equal to 1 Tsp Table Salt
Maldon Sea Salt 2 teaspoons
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt 2 teaspoons
Espirit du Sel Fleur de Sel 1 1/3 teaspoons
Light Grey Celtic Sea Salt 1 1/4 teaspoons
Morton Course Kosher Salt 1 1/4 teaspoons
Fleur de Sel de Camargue 1 1/4 teaspoons
Morton Salt (noniodized) 1 teaspoon
Morton Iodized Salt 1 teaspoon
La Baleine Sea Salt 1 teaspoon

So as you can see, Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is just less tightly packed than more regularly shaped salts. Just because you use twice as many teaspoons/tablespoons of Diamond as you would normal table salt, doesn’t mean you’ve actually added any more salt to the dish.

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Kevin’s Chili (from The Office)

At Peacock, we don’t make promises we can’t keep. So, please see below for the chili recipe inspired by Kevin Malone’s legendary family dish, which he so memorably brought to Dunder Mifflin on The Office.

Dried ancho chile peppers

Ingredients
4 dried ancho chiles
2 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable, canola or grapeseed)
3 lbs ground beef (80/20 or 85/15 lean)
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic
1 large jalapeño, finely chopped
1 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 12 oz. bottles of beer (lager or pale ale)
3 cans Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups beef stock
2 ½ cups chopped ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Chopped scallions, shredded Jack cheese and sour cream for topping

Directions
Tear ancho chiles into pieces, discarding seeds and stems. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, toast chiles over medium-high, stirring occasionally until very fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer toasted ancho chiles to a food processor or spice mill and process until very finely ground. Set aside.

Add oil to pot and heat over medium-high. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally to break beef into small pieces, until well browned (about 6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate and set aside.

Add onion to pot and cook briefly over medium-high until barely softened, about 2 minutes. The secret is to under cook the onions.

Using a garlic press, press garlic directly into the pot, 1 clove at a time. Then stir in jalapeños, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper and tomato paste. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add beer and continue to cook, stirring and scraping the pan, about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans in a large bowl and mash briefly with a potato masher until broken up but not fully mashed.

Add mashed beans, stock, tomatoes, salt, and cooked beef to pot. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low to maintain simmer and cook 2 hours so everything gets to know each other in the pot. Remove from heat, uncover and let stand at least 1 hour (can also be refrigerated 8 hours or overnight).

Reheat gently, taste and add more salt if necessary, and serve with your favorite toppings. We recommend chopped scallions, shredded Jack cheese and sour cream.

Enjoy! While we wish you could dish us up a bowlful (without spilling it all over our reception area, naturally), feel free to share this recipe (tagging @peacocktv, of course). And now, back to your regularly scheduled legal document.