Hola salsa makers! I’m here to talk to you about sea salt vs. table salt in regards to your salsa recipe.
Sea and table salt both hold the same the nutritional value according to Katherine Zeratsky from The Mayo Clinic. Overall, it doesn’t matter which one you use, but its important not to use too much as it can drown out the other various flavors in your salsa. For every 16 ounces of salsa that you make, a recommended amount of salt would be right around ½ teaspoon. You will notice that several large salsa manufacturers will often use table salt, tomatoes, and sugar to comprise the majority of their recipe. While the human body has a tendency to crave sugar and salt more frequently than others ingredients, it doesn’t mean that these also have to take over your salsa’s flavor profile. Remember, don’t copy, you want to be different and better!
If you are looking to sell your new salsa product, consider using this salt simply as a marketing tool. It has become attractive to many common food suppliers, even in the fast food industry, as it yields a more natural connotation that shows on the bottom line. Depending on whether you are creating a prepared salsa or a salsa mix, sea salt can be advantageous strictly for shelf appeal. A salsa mix (a blend of seasonings that when added to tomatoes allows for a quick substitute to store bought salsa) that is packaged in a transparent bag with sea salt allows for a bit more “eye candy” to the customer. In monitoring the food industry over the past several years, there has been a significant move towards healthier eating habits and with that comes a higher demand for ingredients to be visible, in more ways than one. I have seen a handful of salsa mix companies that use salt from the sea for its coarse appearance, as it aesthetically compliments the remaining ingredients in the blend, affirming the customer that they are eating a healthy product.
Whether you are just preparing your salsa recipe for a few friends or ramping up for your first production run, the coarse nature of this salt can be advantageous when storing for long periods. Spices don’t necessarily go bad, but they simply lose their freshness over time. Due to the coarseness of this appealing ingredient you can expect a bit more resilience to maintain freshness amongst common kitchen conditions. Its recommended that you store all of your spices out of direct sunlight and in air tight containers for optimal taste when it comes time to prep with food. We’ve 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 on one side of the mineral that indicates it is in fact sea salt, and not table salt. Additionally, if you are ever in a bind and need sea salt but don’t have any, some margarita salt will do just fine, make sure you order enough for your big production run though, as you’ll need consistency with your recipe.