Kosher Salt

Alton Brown and Kosher Salt - DJE
             Bill Atkinson
             Doug Essinger-Hileman
             Larry Finch
             John Marmet
             Jesse Strader
             Doug Essinger-Hileman
             Astrid Bear

Alton Brown and Kosher Salt - DJE
Since the list is salted with many epicures and gourmets, does anyone know why Alton Brown (Good Eats) always demands "kosher salt," even in dishes where it dissolves completely? (Yes, I know about so-called "gourmet salts" whose impurities allegedly impart desirable flavor notes, but NaCl is NaCl when mingled with other, stronger flavors, ain't it?)

Bill Atkinson
I use it meself. I am told that the taste is less 'salty' and with a slightly sour flavor. I know that I like my results better.

Doug Essinger-Hileman
Because kosher salt has no additives, including iodine and anti-caking agents. Alton Brown recommends it specifically because of the lack of iodine, which has a metallic flavor which gives a "dirtier" flavor to the food.

Larry Finch
I use Kosher salt for baking bread. Yes, it's expensive - relatively. As a box lasts several years, if you are so destitute that you can't afford $1 a year for salt then you shouldn't get it.

John Marmet
Actually table salt is mixed with impurities (iodine, etc.). Kosher salt has no additives (other than something to prevent caking). And Kosher salt, having large flakes, is easier to handle with your fingers. Table salt is either poured or shaken. Kosher salt can be pinched. I use it all the time.

Jesse Strader
Well, I don't know why Alton Brown recommends it, but I use kosher salt exclusively in cooking (though not baking). First, because if it's got a kosher seal, it has no additives at all (no iodine, no "flow agents", etc.) Second, because kosher salt is a larger crystal than regular table salt and dissolves more slowly, which means that meat and such doesn't shrink as much (though this trait can make kosher salt problematic when baking). Finally, when using kosher salt directly on cooked food, I find myself using less -- probably also a result of the larger crystals.
I'm not Jewish or Muslim, but I use a lot of kosher and hallal products because I know that I can trust what's in them more than products from other producers. As an old Hebrew National ad for kosher beef franks states, "we answer to a higher authority"; and though I may not actually believe in the higher authority, I more than willing to buy from someone who thinks they are bound by it.
Don't try to use it in a standard salt cellar. If you want it on your table, put it in a salt grinder (any old spice grinder really), or in a small jar with a demitasse spoon inside -- shake it and spoon it when you want it (or just take pinches if you're in the kitchen where "no one can see" a la Julia Child).

Doug Essinger-Hileman
The salt should really be called "koshering" salt. It gets its name not because it has been declared "kosher" by the proper authorities, but because it is used in the process for making meat kosher (specifically, by drawing out the blood).
You are absolutely correct that fine-grained salt is unable to do this. So true "koshering" salt, by necessity, must be coarse grained.

Astrid Bear
Kosher salt has less weight by volume, because the flakes don't pile as neatly together as the little grains of regular salt, so if the recipe calls for "salt" and you are using kosher salt, up the quantity. I just measured the weights of a level tablespoon of salt (14 g.), and kosher salt (12 g.). But it seems to me "Cook's Kitchen" says that the different is half again, so a cup of table salt is replaced by a cup and a half of kosher salt. The fancy salts are mostly intended for "finishing salt", a little sprinkle added to the top just at serving time, so the flavor isn't dissipated.