The Essential Role of Salt in Cooking *(and How We Flavour Food Around the World)*
what salt is
By jerome amosNovember 15, 2025
what salt is
Salt is often thought of simply as "that white stuff we shake on food." But in the kitchen, and in food history and science, salt is so much more. Whether you're brining meat, seasoning a soup, baking bread, preserving vegetables, or creating a savoury snack, salt is playing multiple vital roles.
In this post, we'll explore what salt is, the different types of salt you might encounter, why salt is so important in cooking, and how different regions—from Asia to the Middle East to America—either rely on salt in traditional ways or use substitutes and alternate seasonings.
What Is Salt?
Chemically speaking, the salt we most often cook with is sodium chloride (NaCl). It is a mineral (halite) in its rock form, or it can be obtained via evaporation of seawater or from salt deposits.
Salt is essential to life: our bodies use sodium (and the associated chloride) for nerve signalling, fluid balance, and muscle contraction.
But in cooking and food science, salt does much more than season:
- Seasoning: Enhances taste and brings out the natural flavours of ingredients.
- Preservative: Inhibits spoilage bacteria and helps preserve meat, fish, vegetables, and cheese.
- Texture Aid: Strengthens gluten in bread, binds moisture in meats, and regulates fermentation.
- Flavour Balancer: Suppresses bitterness, enhances sweetness, and emphasizes umami.
- Colour Developer: Promotes crusts in bread and caramelisation in baked goods.
Without salt, food would not only taste flat but behave differently during cooking.
The Different Types of Salt
Not all salts are created equal. While many are chemically similar, their texture, mineral content, crystal size, and processing create distinct characteristics.
🧂 Table Salt
- Fine-grained and refined.
- Usually includes iodine (for nutrition) and anti-caking agents.
- Common in most households.
🧂 Kosher Salt
- Coarser grains, easier to pinch and control.
- Often preferred by chefs for even seasoning.
- Dissolves quickly, making it great for cooking.
🌊 Sea Salt
- Harvested by evaporating seawater.
- Varies in texture and mineral content.
- Often used as a finishing salt for its subtle, briny flavour.
🌸 Fleur de Sel & Sel Gris
- Fleur de sel: hand-harvested from tidal pools in France; delicate and flaky.
- Sel gris ("grey salt"): slightly moist, mineral-rich, and great for finishing dishes.
🏔️ Himalayan Pink Salt
- Mined in Pakistan.
- Contains trace minerals giving it a pink hue.
- Used in cooking and finishing but similar to regular salt chemically.
🌿 Specialty Salts
- Kala Namak (Black Salt) – a sulphuric, mineral-rich salt used in South Asian dishes.
- Bamboo Salt – Korean salt baked in bamboo for a smoky aroma.
- Celtic Sea Salt – greyish salt with natural moisture and minerals.
Why These Differences Matter
Crystal size affects how quickly salt dissolves and how "salty" it tastes by volume.
A teaspoon of fine salt can taste twice as salty as a teaspoon of coarse salt. Always adjust by weight or taste when switching types.
jerome amos
Jerome Amos is a native New Yorker, foodie, and chef who learned to cook as a young child. His older relatives, boy scout training, and desire to help prep the Sunday church potluck meals profoundly influenced Jerome's early love of preparing and sharing delicious recipes and creating a connected community.
Jerome of BFAM Cooking By the age of 10, Jerome was making his meals and operating the grill at family BBQs. He continued to learn and expand his culinary experience by trying new techniques and observing his grandmother preparing her family recipes. Jerome began working in restaurants in high school, moving his way up from dishwasher to kitchen prep. Jerome got married, joined the military, and didn't level up his cooking until a few years after the USAF when he and his wife watched The Food Network. Their shared passion for cooking led them to take cooking classes and attend significant food events where celebrity chefs would appear and do cooking demos.
Understanding basic cooking techniques paired with the curiosity of making an idea work inspired Jerome and his wife to attend as many food events and cooking adventures as possible. This exploration has taken them worldwide, including Italy, where they learned about their surroundings through the local ingredients, recipes, and traditions. A turning point for Jerome took place in a Costco when he was doing his weekly grocery shopping and noticed a couple who was purchasing almost a dozen containers of BBQ sauce. Jerome had just taken a BBQ class and knew this guy had to be cooking up to something delicious.
After a brief conversation, Jerome and his wife were invited to this couple's BBQ, and a foodie friendship was born. Jerome and his new friend, Ellis, couldn't get enough chow chat, discussing everything from Southern flavor and French dishes to favorite chef knives and preferred salt. Together, they felt they had a lot to share with many other food lovers out there and B.F.A.M. Cooking (Brothers from Another Mother) was born on YouTube. Jerome, who had served in the US. Air Force for over five years, during the gulf war, said that the military way is to treat everyone on your team the same as your family.
That became the foundation for Brothers From Another Mother cooking or BFAM Cooking because everyone can be your "fam", especially at the dining table. The BFAM Cooking videos range from delicious, original recipes Jerome created to American restaurant owners who wanted to know better. There are also videos about cooking tools that he loves and simple techniques to make things easier. Jerome was recently one of the many chefs from around the globe who competed in an exclusive online competition to be named the world's Favorite Chef, receive $50,000, and a feature in two-page advertising spread in Bon Appétit announcing the winner. Voted on by the fans, Jerome made it as a semi-finalist, placing 3rd in his group.
