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 Salt	1 cup
Morton Kosher Salt	1-1/2 cups
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt	2 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.

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.

Snowy Dogwood at night

KitchenAid sixty minute rolls

1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 packages active dry yeast (2 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups (600 grams) + 1/2-1/1/2 cups (<200 grams) all purpose flour.

Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter over low heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolves.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixing bowl. Add 4 1/2 cups flour and lukewarm milk mixture. Mix with dough hook for 1 minute at speed 2.

Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix about 2 minutes until dough cleans the side of the bowl. Continue about 2 minutes more until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in oiled bowl, turning to oil top. Cover and let rise in warm place about 15 minutes. Turn dough on lightly floured surface. Shape as desired and cover. Cut into 24 balls or strips and roll up. Let rise 15 minutes at 90 degrees F.  Bake at 425 degrees F until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Notes:

The KitchenAid mixer manual does this as a modification of the basic white bread recipe. I find it easier to  have it all modified in one place.

24 balls on a half baking sheet make fairly tall dinner rolls. The curlicue version need two half sheets to spread out properly.

Pickled carrots

From Food in Jars: pickled carrots.

Small-Batch Pickling Brine

1 cup filtered water
1 cup apple cider vinegar (make sure it’s commercial vinegar that is at least 5% acidity)
1 tablespoon pickling salt (or 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt)

A palmful (each) of at least a few of the following:

• crushed bay leaves
• peppercorns
• hot pepper flakes
• allspice berries
• coriander seeds
• whole cloves

Homemade Crackers

Homemade Crackers from Food in Jars

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt (add a bit more if you like a saltier cracker)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water

Pre-heat over to 450 degrees.

Combine the flours and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil and water and stir until you have a cohesive ball of dough (you’ll need to use your hands to really get it all together). Set aside for 15-20 minutes.

While you wait, mix up an optional spice/seed blend  Here's an example.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fennel seed

After the dough has rested a bit, divide it into two pieces, flour a board and rolling pin and roll the dough out until it’s as thin as you can get it. Put on a parchment-covered cookie sheet, brush with water and sprinkle with your spice/seed mixture or salt (kosher or a coarse sea salt is best here). Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into squares or diamonds and bake for 10-12 minutes).

Let the crackers cool completely and then store them in an airtight container. If you don’t eat them all up, they’ll last at least a week on the counter.

They are also delicious sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Each recipe makes between 40-50 crackers, depending on how small you make your cuts.