Ingredients

1086 articles on substrates, cultures and additives.

All ingredients

Rough reddish-purple kala namak lumps fill a shallow cream ceramic bowl, with two lumps resting on the warm ivory tabletop.
Salt

Black salt

Black salt, or kala namak, is a South Asian rock salt fired with plant material until it holds sulphur compounds and smells of boiled eggs. It seasons chaats, chutneys and fruit, and it gives vegan egg dishes their eggy note.

Coarse pretzel salt crystals in a small ceramic dish on a warm ivory surface.
Salt

Pretzel salt

Pretzel salt is chosen for the crystals left on a baked surface. Grain size, shape and any coating determine how it adheres, dissolves and tastes.

A small pale ceramic bowl of irregular flaky sea salt, with several crystals scattered on a warm ivory surface.
Salt

Flaky sea salt

Flaky sea salt consists of thin, brittle crystals used for surface seasoning and texture. Production methods and bulk density vary, so it is not a direct volume substitute for fine salt.

Pink curing salt granules in a shallow ivory dish.
Salt

Insta Cure #1

Insta Cure #1 is a measured salt and sodium nitrite blend used in specified meat-curing methods, including bacon and some sausages. It differs from nitrate-containing Cure #2 and must be matched to the recipe and product.

A mound of translucent-white coarse salt crystals fills a small stoneware dish, with a modest spill on a warm ivory tabletop.
Salt

Coarse salt

Coarse salt is food-grade salt in large grains, from sea, rock deposits or brine, used for curing, brining, pickling and packing fish.

Fine pale pink curing-salt granules in a shallow ivory dish.
Salt

Curing salts

Curing salts are measured blends of sodium chloride with sodium nitrite, or nitrite and nitrate, used to cure meat. Cure #1, Cure #2 and proprietary mixes differ in composition and in the processes they suit.

Translucent white rock salt chunks fill a shallow speckled cream bowl, with three chunks on a warm ivory tabletop.
Salt

Rock salt

Rock salt is sodium chloride mined from ancient salt beds, sold from coarse grey chunks to pink Himalayan crystals and the fired black salt, kala namak, used in Indian cooking.

Pale tan curing-blend granules in a shallow ivory dish.
Salt

Insta Cure #2

The Sausage Maker’s currently declared dry-curing blend contains salt, 6.25% sodium nitrite, 1% sodium nitrate and annatto. Its identity and role differ from plain salt and other Cure #2 formulations.

Illustrative editorial image of generic dry white salt crystals for cheesemaking; no particular supplier, exact grade, or batch is implied.
Salt

Cheese salt

Food-grade sodium chloride selected for cheesemaking seasons curd and changes its moisture, microbial environment and rind; grain and application must suit the particular cheese.

Coarse pale sea-salt crystals in an ivory dish.
Salt

Sea salt

Salt recovered from seawater comes as fine grains, coarse crystals and delicate flakes. Its production, crystal form and measured use connect coastal saltworking with cooking and preservation.

Loose white kosher-salt crystals in a shallow ivory bowl.
Salt

Kosher salt

Coarse cooking salt named for its use in koshering meat. Its flakes vary by maker, so crystal shape, additives and the recipe’s unit all matter.

Coarse white edible salt crystals in a plain ceramic bowl.
Salt

Salt

Food-grade sodium chloride seasons food and changes water movement in brines and cures; crystal size and the recipe's measurement method matter.

Fine white table salt in a low ceramic dish on an ivory tabletop.
Salt

Table salt

Table salt is fine-grained food-grade sodium chloride for everyday seasoning and measured cooking. Products may include iodine or an anti-caking agent.