10 Best Salts for Cooking in 2021 (Chef-Reviewed)

Danilo is an Italian chef who has grown up cooking traditional dishes under his nonna and mamma's tutelage. He has also worked in Italian restaurants in various countries such as Australia and Japan.

The skills he has acquired at home and in a professional kitchen have enabled him to preserve and expound on Italian cuisine while dabbling in recipes from other cultures. Read on to see his insight into how to choose the right salt for your recipes!

We chose our 10 best salts based on the following factors, backed up by an experienced chef:

• The type of cooking it will be used for
• The grain size of the salt
• Whether or not it's a specialty salt

You can read more about each point in the buying guide below, but for now, take a look at our 10 picks!

Here is our curated list of the 10 best salts for cooking. We made our choices based on the points listed in the buying guide below, as well as reviewer comments when available.

*Please note that these products were chosen after extensive research by mybest writers. The choices are not necessarily affiliated with or recommended by Danilo Specchiulli.

Most salts will have a similar flavor, but there's still a lot to consider when choosing the right one for your cooking. Let's look at the different types, as well as how a salt's grain size affects your recipes.

Salt can either come from evaporated seawater or the ground, and from there it can be divided into three main categories: table salt, rock salts including Himalayan, and sea salts.

Table salt is very fine, with regularly-shaped crystals, and usually contains anti-caking agents to prevent it from clumping. Some also have added iodine.

If you've ever tried to sprinkle salt from a shaker over a steaming pot, you know the futility of your task! The holes in the shaker will quickly get clogged up with salt. So, while it makes for accurate measurements of teaspoons and tablespoons, this salt's main use is for seasoning finished dishes at the table, and for baking.

When water from ancient inland seas evaporated, the salt in them crystallized, and became the salt deposits we mine today.

The most famous gourmet rock salt you'll find is Himalayan pink salt, which derives its color from trace minerals like copper and magnesium found in the crystals. However, any minerals in salt are in very small amounts compared to the rest of the foods in your dish, so nutrition shouldn't be a deciding factor in choosing.

Himalayan pink salt can also be carved into various shapes, such as a slab or block that you can cook on directly! These can be used to sear meats, cook pizza, or cook eggs. They can also be chilled to serve cold foods like sushi. It's hard to think of a more impressive way to add seasoning to your food.

Sea salt is another form of salt that has trace minerals. They can include potassium, iron, and zinc. However, because it is sourced from seawater, it will usually also contain microplastics. We don't really know if consuming the tiny bits of plastic in our oceans is harmful to human health, but it's something to be aware of.

Sea salts are typically flakier in texture than rock salts, creating a crisp mouthfeel for enhancing dishes. The grain size can vary, from fine-textured salts that are great for seasoning during cooking, to larger crystals that add crunchy saltiness to a finished dish.

Kosher salt is the most popular grain shape and size, and it can be made from sea or rock salt. The reason it's so useful is its grain size and texture. Its grains are flaky, unevenly-sized and coarse, making it more effective at drawing the blood out of meats, which is what koshering means. It doesn't contain many trace minerals and usually doesn't have added iodine, but it might sometimes contain anti-caking agents.

The large grain size makes it easy to add a pinch of salt to a dish while you're cooking. It's popular for adding to boiling pasta water, brining, and just about any other use. But the uneven grains produce unreliable measurements by volume, so it's not good for baking.

Salt is prized for its texture and visual appeal just as much as its taste and ability to enhance the natural flavor of foods. Depending on how you plan to use the salt, you'll want to pay attention to the size of the crystals you buy.

Fine-grained salts are able to dissolve and mix well into soups, batters, and other dishes. You generally won't be able to see the grains after using it. However, some fine-grained salts, such as Fleur de Sel, add light, crunchy texture to dishes as a finishing salt.

Coarse salts also add texture, and you can use a grinder to break up the chunks into smaller pieces. These are best for finishing dishes where you want the salt to hold its shape and not dissolve.

If you're looking for additional seasoning, you can find many salts that are blended with herbs or infused with other flavors. There's an almost endless array of these in various combinations for any type of cuisine, and it's easy to make your own by mixing dried herbs or other ingredients in a food processor with salt.

Smoked salt provides extra flavor while not containing additional ingredients. Salt can be dried while absorbing the smoke from any number of woods. Smoked salts offer a strong aroma and work best as rubs or finishing salts.

Indian black salt contains sulfur as part of the manufacturing process, which gives it the distinctive aroma and taste of eggs. It's popular for vegan dishes. Moshio is a Japanese salt produced using seaweed, which imparts a subtle umami flavor.

Most Americans consume far more salt than the recommended amount, and it can have serious health consequences. If you're looking to cut down, one way is to use more herbs and other seasonings. But sometimes you just need that salty flavor.

There are two substances that are close in chemical composition to salt, and have a similar taste: potassium chloride and monosodium glutamate.

Potassium chloride is produced and sold by big brands, making it a readily-available salt replacement. It can be used in all the same ways because it has the same properties as regular salt as far as food chemistry goes.

You can also use it like table salt when finishing dishes, but it can taste bitter. In addition, it's best to talk to your doctor before switching to potassium chloride. It may not be appropriate for those who have heart, liver or kidney disease, high blood pressure, or take certain medications.

Monosodium glutamate is a naturally-occurring salt of glutamic acid, and found in large amounts in foods like tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. It's the chemical behind the umami, or savory, taste.

It has one-third the sodium content of regular salt, and because it interacts with and enhances savory flavors, you'll get more impact with less of it. It won't work with sweet recipes, but can be used in any savory food application.

However, like salt, it can still increase blood pressure if consumed in very large amounts. You may also have heard that it can cause headaches and other symptoms, but studies have consistently shown this not to be the case, and participants can't tell the difference between it and a placebo when given amounts normally used in foods.

Danilo says, "Salt is considered the most important ingredient in the kitchen. It is present in all flavors, from sweet to savory. However, it can get confusing what you need in your kitchen arsenal with the many kinds of salt available. 

I recommend having one of each of the four types of salts: table, for everyday cooking and baking; kosher, a flakier option without iodine for dehydrating; sea salt, for a less refined option and achieving that powerful salty kick; and finishing salts if you are meticulous about presentation."

Now you know that all salts aren't created equal, but you might still have some questions. We've tried to answer some of them here.

There's no argument about whether or not you need iodine in your diet - you do! But does it have to come from an additive in your salt? The answer largely depends on where you live and what you eat.

In the US, dairy products often contain iodine. When iodophor cleansers are used as part of the milking process, iodine is accidentally introduced into the milk and passed along to the consumer. Iodine is also present in soil, and crops grown in this soil pick it up. But, iodine soil levels vary widely across the country.

The most reliable dietary source of iodine is anything that comes from the ocean. Seaweed is an excellent source, and fish and shellfish will also provide some of your recommended daily allowance. Some other foods that provide iodine are eggs and prunes. If you don't eat enough of these foods, you should consider using iodized salt.

You'll often see manufacturers tout their salt as healthier than others because it has more minerals. Himalayan pink salt, in particular, has been marketed this way. But these claims need to be taken with a grain of salt!

Salt is 90 to 99 percent sodium chloride. Himalayan pink salt and sea salt both contain trace amounts of minerals, whereas refined table salt has lost many of them in the process. However, the key point here is "trace amounts." You'd need to consume far more than the recommended daily allowance of sodium in order to get anywhere near the RDA of those minerals.

All those minerals can really provide is color and a more complex flavor profile. So, which salt is the healthiest? The one you consume in moderation!

The world of condiments, spices, and herbs is a vast one. Besides salt, there are so many other flavorings you can use to enhance your dishes.

If you want a few more options to look through, check out Amazon's bestseller list! You may even recognize a few choices on there.

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