# Does the type of salt you cook with matter? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/types-of-salt/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Food · Updated: 2026-10-13 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* For seasoning by taste, much less than the labels suggest: most salt is mostly sodium chloride. What changes is crystal size, which affects how much salt fits in a spoon, how fast it dissolves and how it feels on the tongue. Use fine or coarse salt for cooking, flaky salt for finishing, and season by taste or by weight rather than by the spoon. Salt is the most important seasoning in the kitchen, and its shelf has quietly become a gallery: fine table salt, coarse sea salt, flaky crystals, pink salt, grey salt, kosher salt. Does it really matter which one you use? Sometimes. Mostly for reasons of shape, not flavour. ## What salt is made of Nearly all of it is sodium chloride. [Wikipedia's sea salt entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt) notes that sea salt's principal component is sodium chloride, with variable amounts of other minerals, and that table salt is more processed to remove those minerals, often with an anti-caking agent added. Some people believe sea salt tastes better, the same entry says, but differences in coarseness and how quickly it dissolves also change how it feels in the mouth. In a pan of sauce or pasta water, where the salt dissolves completely, those differences largely disappear. On top of a finished dish, where you can feel the crystals, they matter more. ## The crystal size problem The biggest practical difference is volume. A spoonful of fine salt packs tightly; a spoonful of coarse or flaky crystals is mostly air. So the same spoonful of different salts can contain very different amounts. [Wikipedia's kosher salt entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_salt) puts it plainly: different brands of salt vary dramatically in density, so recipes that give salt by weight are more consistent. Even two brands of kosher salt can differ because one makes flat crystals and another pyramid-shaped ones. What this means at the stove: if a recipe says a spoonful of salt and you use a different kind, taste before trusting the number. Switching from flaky to fine salt without adjusting is the classic route to an over-salted dish. See [how to rescue a dish that's too salty](https://zestasy.com/wiki/too-salty/) if it has already happened. ## The main kinds and what we use them for - **Fine salt** (table salt or fine sea salt). Dissolves quickly and spreads evenly. Good for baking, doughs, dressings and seasoning at the table. Some is iodised: the [sea salt entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt) notes that iodised salt is table salt with iodine added. - **Coarse salt** (*sale grosso*). The classic Italian choice for pasta water and for cooking water generally. Cheap, easy to grab by the handful, and dissolves fully in boiling water. - **Kosher salt.** Larger, irregular crystals, usually without additives such as iodine, per [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_salt). Popular because it is easy to pinch and sprinkle evenly. - **Flaky salt.** Thin, crunchy flakes. Our finishing salt: on roasted vegetables, tomatoes, focaccia, eggs, chocolate, caramel. Too precious and too uneven for pasta water. - **Grey and pink salts.** Their colour comes from minerals and trace impurities. They taste a little different on the tongue as finishing salts; dissolved in cooking, the difference is slight. ## When they are interchangeable - **Anything that dissolves:** pasta water, soups, sauces, braises, brines. Any salt works; just season by taste. - **Seasoning to taste as you cook:** as long as you taste, the type does not matter much. ## When they are not - **Baking and doughs**, where measurements matter: use the salt the recipe was written for, or weigh it. - **Finishing**, where texture is the point: a flaky salt on a tomato salad is a different experience from fine salt. - **Recipes measured by volume**, where crystal size changes the amount. ## Our simple setup Keep coarse salt for cooking water, fine salt for baking and everyday seasoning, and a box of flaky salt for finishing. That covers almost everything. For more on how much to use, see [how much salt](https://zestasy.com/food/how-much-salt/). ## FAQ ### Is expensive salt worth it? As a finishing salt, a good flaky salt is a small, lasting pleasure. For cooking water, any salt will do. ### Why do Italian cooks use coarse salt for pasta? It is inexpensive, it dissolves completely in boiling water and it is easy to measure by the handful. Fine salt works too, but needs a lighter hand. ### Does pink salt taste different? Slightly, as a finishing salt, mostly because of the texture of the crystals. Once dissolved, most people would struggle to tell. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Sea salt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt) - [Wikipedia: Kosher salt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_salt) ## Related - [How do you know how much salt to use when cooking?](https://zestasy.com/food/how-much-salt/) - [How do you rescue a dish that's too salty?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/too-salty/) - [Does freshly ground black pepper really make a difference?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/freshly-ground-pepper/) - [Which spices are actually worth buying?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/spices-worth-buying/) - [What should you keep in the pantry for quick weeknight dinners?](https://zestasy.com/food/weeknight-pantry/) - [All Food answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#food)