Salt is one of the most essential ingredients in cooking. But not all salts are created equal. The type of salt you use can impact the flavor, texture, and even nutrition of your dishes. In this guide, we‘ll compare three popular specialty salt varieties – Redmond‘s Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, and Celtic Sea Salt – to help you decide which is best for you.
An Overview of Specialty Salts
Before diving into the specifics, let‘s quickly recap what makes certain salts "specialty" products.
Table salt (like Morton‘s or iodized salt) is highly refined and often contains additives like anti-caking agents. Specialty salts are less processed, harvested using traditional techniques, and packaged without additives. This leaves them richer in trace minerals. Their unique flavors, textures, and colors also make them popular finishing salts.
While more expensive than table salt, specialty salts are prized by chefs and home cooks alike. Their versatility and nutrition make them well worth the higher cost for many.
Now, let‘s explore how three popular specialty salt options – Redmond‘s, Himalayan pink, and Celtic sea salts – compare across some key attributes:
Redmond Real Salt
Redmond Real Salt is mined from an ancient sea bed in Redmond, Utah that‘s now an underground salt deposit. The salt is actually protected by a layer of bentonite clay, which shields it from modern pollution and erosion. This allows it to retain a rich mineral profile.
Mining and Harvest: Redmond Salt is mined via drilling and blasting. Small controlled blasts break up the salt deposits, allowing extraction with excavators. But the salt itself is never exposed to equipment or air. The surrounding clay means that only select mining companies (like Redmond) have been able to access these protected salt deposits. Once mined, the salt is crushed and packaged on-site at the Redmond facility.
Properties: With over 60 naturally occurring trace minerals, Redmond Salt has high mineral counts for sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, and more. It also contains the least sodium chloride of the three salts compared here. In fact, less than 94% of Redmond Salt is sodium chloride, compared to 97%+ for pink Himalayan and Celtic salts.
The salt has a coarse, crystalline texture and ranges from off-white to light pink in color. The clay imparts a subtle, earthy flavor.
Best Uses: Redmond Salt is a great all-purpose salt. Its bold flavor and mineral content make it ideal for finishing meats before grilling or roasting. It‘s also excellent for savory baked goods, veggie fermenting, pickling, and mineral-rich broths and stocks.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Despite the name, Himalayan pink salt is actually sourced from Salt Range mines in Pakistan. It comes from ancient sea beds dating back to the Precambrian era. During an ice age, the sea evaporated, leaving behind massive salt deposits that now comprise the world‘s second largest salt mine reserve.
Mining and Harvest: Himalayan salt is hand-mined from thousands of feet below the surface. Mine tunnels follow the veins of salt deposits. Miners extract giant salt boulders, often peppered with colorful mineral impurities. These boulders come to the surface and get sorted by color and quality before being packaged and distributed around the world.
Properties: Varying mineral content explains the color spectrum, ranging from white to deep reds and pinks. Iodine and iron especially contribute to Himalayan Salt‘s iconic coloring. In total, it contains over 84 trace elements. The salt crystals themselves range from fine powders to large uneven chunks. Flavor-wise, it‘s less bitter than refined salt, offering a round, balanced saltiness.
Best Uses: Use Himalayan salt as an everyday table salt. Sprinkle it over finished dishes for flavor and visual appeal. It also makes a stellar salt crust for meat, fish, or veggies cooked en papillote style. With slightly lower sodium than refined salt, it can reduce sodium intake without compromising taste.
Celtic Sea Salt
Celtic Sea Salt hails from Brittany, France, where salt farmers have been hand-harvesting salt since ancient Celtic times. Using traditional methods passed down for generations, Celtic Sea Salt maintains exceptional quality and terroir.
Harvesting and Production: Celtic salt farmers manually rake salt that naturally rises to the surface of salt ponds. The salty sea water gets trapped in marshland pools, then evaporates under the sun and wind, leaving mineral-rich salt behind. Farmers respect sustainable harvest quotas to preserve regional ecosystems. The grayish hue comes from harvesting salt and clay together. Blending the two actually helps preserve moisture and mineral content.
Properties: Celtic Sea Salt boasts a high concentration of electrolytes like magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Iron, zinc, manganese and other trace minerals also add to its nutrition. These natural minerals lend a delicate brininess balanced by a gentle sweetness. The larger grains deliver a satisfying crunch, while dissolving readily on the tongue. Even as flakes, Celtic salt contains more residual moisture than other salt varieties.
Best Uses: With its gentle flavor and instant solubility, Celtic Sea Salt makes an ideal all-purpose cooking and finishing salt. Sprinkle it liberally on salads, roasted veggies, grilled meats, and more. The luxurious texture and taste elevate everyday dishes. It also adds great flavor and electrolytes to snacks, drinks, and electrolyte formulations.
How Do They Compare?
Here‘s a breakdown of how these three popular salt varieties stack up across some key attributes:
| Attribute | Redmond‘s Real Salt | Himalayan Pink Salt | Celtic Sea Salt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source | Ancient seabed mine (Utah) | Ancient seabed mine (Pakistan) | Solar-evaporated sea water (France) |
| Harvesting Method | Controlled excavation | Traditional hand-mining | Sun-drying & hand raking |
| Color | Off-white to light pink | White to deep pinks/reds | Light to medium gray |
| Texture | Coarse crystals | Fine to chunky crystals | Dry flakes to crystals |
| Primary Minerals | Sodium chloride + 60+ trace minerals | Sodium chloride + 84+ trace minerals | Sodium chloride + electrolyte minerals |
| Flavor Profile | Strong, earthy | Mild, sweet, salty | Delicate, sweet-salty |
| Moisture Content | Low | Low | High |
| Best Uses | Finishing, fermenting | All-purpose table salt | All-purpose cooking/finishing |
While their differences are subtle, each salt best suits certain uses in the kitchen. Discerning cooks often keep more than one type on hand to take advantage of their unique qualities.
Health Considerations
Specialty salts win out health-wise thanks to their lack of additives and rich mineral content. Table salt often contains chemical anti-caking agents and synthetic iodine that negatively impact health over time.
On the flip side, trace nutrients like magnesium, calcium, sulfur and zinc offer some great health perks: improving hydration, blood pressure, sleep, immunity, and more. Further, replacing highly processed table salt with mineral-dense varieties lets you season food with less total sodium intake.
However, there are a few health caveats to consider with salts:
Microplastics – Salt water and salt products, especially sea salt, runs risks of microplastic contamination. Studies detect microplastics (fragments less than 5 mm in size) in many sea salt brands. These come from environmental pollution and packaging materials. Choose brands that lab test for and address microplastics in their harvesting and production methods.
Heavy Metals – Like our oceans, ancient underground salt deposits can contain heavy metals like lead, arsenic, or cadmium left behind by ancient sea life. Reputable brands test their salt‘s mineral profile to ensure low heavy metal concentrations. Trust established companies with ethical harvesting practices.
In both cases, look for brands transparent about their testing protocols and environmental commitments. When in doubt, contact manufacturers directly with questions.
Sustainability Considerations
We also need to consider sustainability and environmental impact when comparing specialty salts. Table salt production proves extremely energy intensive, often involving heavy industrial mining and intensive processing. This makes specialty salt harvesting the greener choice in most cases.
Both Redmond and Celtic Sea Salt companies prioritize sustainable practices:
- Responsible mining quotas to minimize Redmond Salt‘s footprint
- Renewable solar evaporation by Celtic Salt farmers
For Himalayan salt, sourcing ethics come into play, as some companies may illegally mine or export from Pakistan. Support importers who work directly with local miners to ensure fair wages and safe conditions. The centuries-old hand mining tradition itself poses little environmental risk.
In all cases, look for salt packed in sustainable materials, not plastic. Bamboo, cotton, or paper bags help cut back single-use plastic waste.
Cost Breakdown
- Redmond Real Salt – $3 to $6 per pound
- Himalayan Pink Salt – $5 to $7 per pound
- Celtic Sea Salt – $3 to $15 per pound
As you‘d expect, specialty salts cost more than basic table salt, which retails for $0.50 to $1 per pound. But the pure, additive-free nature and nutrient density make the higher cost worthwhile for many.
Within specialty salts, Celtic Sea Salt spans the widest price range based on factors like grain size, harvesting time of year, and additional hand processing. Pay more for the highest quality – its exceptional flavor and texture justify the occasional splurge.
The Best Salt For You
While personal taste should play a big role, hopefully this breakdown gives you a better feel for what distinguishes these popular salts.
In the end, the "best" salt is whichever variety best suits your needs:
- Choose Redmond‘s or Celtic salts for superior mineral content to enhance nutrition.
- Opt for Redmond for its robust flavor and suitability in ferments/pickles.
- Use Himalayan to add eye-catching color and crunch to finished dishes.
- Keep Celtic Sea Salt on hand for everyday cooking and finishing due to its bright yet smooth flavor.
The good news? With quality specialty salts now widely available, you don‘t have to commit to just one. Trying out different types of artisan salts makes it easy (and delicious!) to uncover new kitchen favorites.
I hope this guide gives you a helpful overview of three popular specialty salt options. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!