Salt is indeed an integral part of every household, especially the kitchen. It imparts the required saltiness and flavor to every dish and makes them more palatable. However, do you know that every dish requires a different grain size of salt?
For instance, you can’t sprinkle coarse Himalayan salt on fries or popcorn, as it will settle down on the bottom. It makes sense, right?
That’s why you need to understand rock salt structure to use the right-sized grain size for your dishes. We have a very good option of salt available in the market that comes in different grain sizes and that is Himalayan pink salt. Himalayan rock salt is very versatile and available in different sizes to cater to diverse requirements, including cooking, scrubbing, and drawing a soothing bath.
Before we discuss in detail the different grain-size of Himalayan let’s see why do we need these sizes.
Need for Different Grain of Salt Size
We all are familiar with the standard grain sizes of salt, such as powder, granular; however, the real question is why we need them. The answer to this question is based on the food you want to season with salt. The size of a grain of salt depends on the type of dish and cooking style.
Let’s talk about real-life examples to understand Himalayan salt grain sizes and their respective uses. A quarter or half teaspoon of fine or medium Himalayan salt is perfect to season all your dishes while cooking as it will easily get distributed.
You can’t add Himalayan coarse pink salt to your cookies; instead, a fine salt would be perfect for this purpose. Fine salt will evenly merge into the cookie batter.
Similarly, you can use bigger grains of coarse Himalayan salt in the grinder along with other organic herbs and spices to enhance the flavor of your dishes.
Lastly, extra-fine Himalayan salt is perfect for potato fries, BBQ, ranch dip, and food pickling. But, of course, you don’t want to take a bite of coarse Himalayan salt in your ranch or garlic mayo dip. Furthermore, you can use fine Himalayan salt to make different cleaning and cosmetic products at home.
Summary
Every dish and cooking style demands different grain sizes of salt. Luckily, Himalayan salt is available in various grain sizes that suit every food type.
Now, let us discuss in depth the different grain sizes of Himalayan pink salt.
Different Himalayan Salt Grain Size
What makes the Himalayan rock salt crystal structure so unique? It’s because of the extreme pressure under which the salt rocks have remained locked not for decades but centuries.
That’s why Himalayan salt is hand-mined in the form of large rocks without using any detonation or crackers. Later, different manufacturers crush the salt in various grain sizes, depending upon their niche and consumer requirements.
If you look at the crystalline structure, you can see irregular crystals ranging from small to medium-size. However, the grain size doesn’t alter the flavor of Himalayan salt. You can also use Himalayan salt as a face scrub and body exfoliator.
Before we discuss the uses of different grain sizes of Himalayan salt, let’s quickly go through their specifications:
- Extra Fine 0 – 0.2mm
- Fine 0.2 – 0.8 mm
- Medium 1 – 2 mm
- Coarse 2 – 5 mm
- Chunks 1 – 2 cm
Extra Fine Himalayan Salt
As the name suggests, extra fine Himalayan salt comes in evenly-shaped tiny particles formed due to the extensive crushing of salt rocks. This way, it has a powdery texture, perfect as finishing salt for cooking and sprinkling. Moreover, the extra-fine grain Himalayan salt is ideal for baking because you can accurately measure it.
Fine Himalayan Pink Salt
It’s the most common salt used for seasoning your daily meals. Unlike medium and coarse Himalayan salt, it doesn’t require grinding.
You can utilize fine Himalayan pink salt as an essential ingredient to fulfill the daily sodium chloride intake. It can be used in soups, brine, sauces, chutneys, marinades, and more.
Not only that, but you can also use it as a bath salt and scrub to detox your skin and body. It helps clean the skin by removing dirt, dead skin, excessive oil, and other toxins.
Medium Himalayan Salt
If you want to make different delicacies and sauces, you can use medium-grain Himalayan salt with other dry or fresh herbs in grinders. The beautiful pink salt crystals packed in a glass grinder also serve as dining table decor.
A medium grain Himalayan salt keeps the basic essence, texture, and attractive color of Himalayan salt intact. You can rub it on large cuts of meat, steaks, briskets, and vegetables to prepare them for grilling and slow smoking.
Coarse Himalayan Pink Salt
As the name suggests, the coarse Himalayan salt has the largest grain size among the other grains discussed previously. In addition, it features a rough texture, making it perfect to kosher the meat.
These large-sized grains don’t permeate the meat easily and pull the protein out from its depth. This way, you can get perfectly cooked juicy meat. Moreover, you can crush it over salads, fruits, and steaks using the grinding mill.
Himalayan Salt Chunks
Himalayan salt is extracted from mines in the form of big rocks that are used to make different products. These chunks are hand-carved to make Himalayan salt lamps that serve as unique decor items. Small chunks are used to sprinkle salt on different dishes using a steel grater. The small Himalayan salt chunks are also used to make sole or saltwater.
You can also DIY a salt lamp by putting these salt chunks in a steel or Himalayan salt bowl with a bulb.
Summary
This versatile pink rock salt is available in extra-fine, fine, medium, coarse grain size along with salt chunks to meet the seasoning requirement of every food.
Closing Remarks
Now, you are well aware of different grain sizes of Himalayan salt and which one to use for what purpose. The end goal is to enjoy the nutritional benefits of mineral-rich pink Himalayan salt by putting it in your meals.
Using the right-size grains of Himalayan salt will enhance the flavor of different dishes, including curries, sauces, BBQ, pizza, and many more.