Hello saucers! I’m here to talk to you about sea salt vs. table salt in regards to your sauce recipe.
Sea salt and table salt have the same nutritional value according to Katherine Zeratsky of the Mayo Clinic. In general, it doesn’t matter which one you use, but it’s important not to use too much, as it can drown out the other flavors in your sauce. For every 16 ounces of sauce you make, the recommended amount of salt would be around ½ teaspoon. She’ll notice that several large sauce makers often use table salt, tomatoes, and sugar to make up the bulk of their recipe. While the human body has a tendency to crave sugar and salt more often than other ingredients, that doesn’t mean they should take over the flavor profile of your sauce as well. Remember, don’t copy, you want to be different and better!
If you’re looking to sell your new salsa product, consider using this salt simply as a marketing tool. It has become attractive to many common food purveyors, including in the fast food industry, as it produces a more natural connotation that shows up in the end result. Depending on whether you are creating a prepared sauce or a sauce mix, sea salt may be advantageous strictly for commercial appeal. A salsa mix (a seasoning mix that when added to tomatoes allows for a quick substitute for store-bought salsa) that is packaged in a clear bag with sea salt allows for a little more “eye candy” for the customer . When monitoring the food industry in recent years, there has been a significant movement towards healthier eating habits and with that comes a greater demand for ingredients to be visible, in more ways than one. I have seen a handful of sauce mix companies use sea salt for its chunky appearance, as it aesthetically complements the remaining ingredients in the mix, reassuring the customer that they are eating a healthy product.
Whether you’re just making your sauce recipe for a few friends or preparing your first production, the coarse nature of this salt can be advantageous when stored for long periods. Spices don’t necessarily go bad, they just lose their freshness over time. Due to the coarseness of this attractive ingredient, you can expect a bit more strength to maintain freshness under common kitchen conditions. It is recommended that you store all your spices out of direct sunlight and in airtight containers for optimal flavor when it comes time to prepare your meal. We have done tests and have also learned that storing spices in a refrigerator will increase their fresh flavor over time.
Authentic coarse sea salt actually has a small red tint to one side of the mineral indicating that it is, in fact, sea salt and not table salt. Also, if you’re ever in a bind and need sea salt but don’t have it, a little margarita salt will work just fine, but be sure to ask for enough for your big production, as you’ll need consistency with your recipe.
