Basic Types of Salt

Table salt – the one found in most salt shakers, is mined from salt deposits and processed to remove most of the minerals.  Most table salt in the United States contains iodine making it iodized salt. This salt is harvested by forcing water into a mine to create brine (salt/water mix). The brine is then evaporated leaving cubes of salt. The salt is refined from there to create the varieties listed below.

Pickling salt, Canning salt, Coarse salt, – fine grained without iodine or anti-caking preservatives. This is similar to table salt, but lacks the iodine and anti-caking additives that turn pickles dark and the pickling liquid cloudy. Pickles made with table salt would still be good to eat, but they wouldn't look as appetizing.  

Pretzel salt – A large grained, which does not melt quickly.

Rock salt – A large unrefined, crystal salt containing the minerals removed from table salt. 

Popcorn salt – very fine grained salt which is a flakier version of table salt. 

Iodized salt – contains a small amount of potassium iodide and dextrose as a dietary supplement.

Seasoned or Flavored salt – table salt with herbs added like onion, hickory smoke or garlic.

Kosher salt, Koshering salt – made from brine that is continually raked during the evaporation process. The raking makes kosher salt coarser and flakier than table salt so it disperses more easily.  Kosher salt is an additive-free.  This salt was originally developed for the preparation of kosher meats in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. The salt itself is not kosher, but this is where the name comes from.  Today many chefs prefer using kosher salt over table salt in their cooking, as it dissolves fast and its flavor disperses quickly. Kosher salt weighs less by volume than table salt, so you must increase the amount of salt used in a recipe when substituting it for table salt.  This is a great all-purpose salt. 

Sea Salt – made from evaporating ocean or sea water, contains trace minerals and nutrients not found in mined salts. Sea salt is often harvested by hand in relatively small quantities.  As a result it is more expensive to produce than mined salt.  Sea salt is typically less refined than other salts. Depending on the seawater used a variety of minerals and nutrients are found in sea salt.  These minerals and nutrients as well as the processed used to harvest the salt result in most having a unique texture, flavor and color.

Sources

The following websites were used as sources for the information above.

http://www.saltinstitute.org/
http://www.salttraders.com/StoreFront.bok
http://www.slate.com/id/2117243
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/saltguide.htm
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/Salt.htm
http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_SaltInFood.asp