Friday, March 23, 2012

Salt equivalence

From All About Salt - The Virtual Weber Bullet.

Salt Equivalent Measures
Table salt and kosher salt do not have the same saltiness in a flavor brine when measured by volume, but they do when measured by weight.
Table salt weighs about 10 ounces per cup, while kosher salt weighs 5-8 ounces per cup, depending on the brand. If using kosher salt in a brine, you must use more than a cup to achieve the same salt flavor you would get from a cup of table salt.
The chart below shows equivalent amounts of table salt and the two most popular brands of kosher salt.
Table Salt1 cup
Morton Kosher Salt1-1/2 cups
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt2 cups
Morton Kosher Salt weighs about 7.7 ounces per cup, making it three-fourths as strong as table salt. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt weighs about 5 ounces per cup, making it half as strong as table salt.
What if you're using something other than Morton Kosher or Diamond Crystal Kosher salt? Regardless of the type of salt - sea salt, canning and pickling salt, or any other brand of kosher salt - just measure 10 ounces of it on a kitchen scale, and you will have the equivalent of 1 cup of table salt.

Notes:

1 cup = 16 Tablespoons
1 oz = 32 grams
10 oz =320 grams

Grams | Table salt  | Morton Kosher | Diamond Crystal
20    | 1 T         | 1 1/3 T = 4t  | 2 T
15    | 3/4 T=2 1/4t| 1T            | 1 1/2 T
10    | 1/2 T=1 1/2t| 2/3 T = 2t    | 1 T


Recipes that don't specify a specific brand of kosher salt tend to use the Diamond Crystal Kosher volume measurements.

Feb 1 2013 ETA:  I just noticed the amounts in the table from the Virtual Bullet for Morton Kosher don't match the results from their weighing.  It should be 1-1/3 cup, not 1-1/2 cup if you go by their weight.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Irish soda bread.

James Beard's Irish soda bread via Meghan Gourley at Mark Bittman's blog: http://markbittman.com/irish-soda-bread

Ireland's Famous Bread from Beard on Food

Time: About 45 minutes
Makes: One round loaf

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 “very level” teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk
Butter for greasing
Optional: 1/2 cup raisins or currants and 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

Heat the oven to 375 deg F.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir in the buttermilk, one half cup at a time, until the dough is soft but sticky. (I used the entire 2 cups.)
Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough for a minute or two.
Shape the dough into a round ball and place it on a buttered baking sheet; cut a large cross in the top with a sharp knife.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the outside is brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it. Serve immediately or store for up to a few days.

Notes: The salt is coarse or Kosher salt, use half as much table salt. My oven needed about 50 minutes to bake. I used Morton's Kosher salt. Dana thought it was a little salty! It is a bit saltier than I'm used to but not excessively so. You could probably reduce the salt by 1/3 to make it closer to "normal".  See salt equivalence.

Congee or Jook

Congee or Jook.

Basic recipe:

1 cup rice
10 cups stock + water
1 teaspoon table salt

add 1 teaspoon or more dried onions to taste

Cook in slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours.

Add diced raw meats or vegetables after the rice has thickened with enough time to cook before serving (15-30 minutes).

Add diced cooked meats or chopped green onions and flavor with soy sauce and or sesame oil to taste.