The Good Stuff Simple Swap: Better Salt Options

🌿 The Good Stuff Simple Swaps

Every week, I share a one-small-change tip to help you clean up your pantry without losing the flavors your family loves. You can find the full library of my “Better Than” swaps here.

As a baker, salt is my secret weapon. It doesn’t just make things “salty”-it unlocks the flavor of the grain in my sourdough and balances the sweetness in my cookies.

But not all salt is created equal. If you are still using that standard blue box of iodized table salt, you are missing out on a Simple Swap that will upgrade every single thing you cook.

The Problem with Processed Salt

Standard table salt is a highly processed product. It is typically bleached, kiln-dried at extreme temperatures, and stripped of all its natural trace minerals.

To keep it “pourable” in humid weather, manufacturers add anti-caking agents like sodium aluminosilicate or yellow prussiate of soda. Some even add dextrose (a form of sugar) to stabilize the iodine.

The “Good Stuff” Swap: Ancient Sea Salt

In my kitchen, we made the switch to Redmond Real Salt. Unlike table salt, this is unrefined and harvested from an ancient seabed right here in the USA.

Why I love it:

The Flavor: It has a sweet, clean finish without that sharp, “metallic” chemical sting of table salt.
The Minerals: It contains over 60 naturally occurring trace minerals (which is why it has those beautiful pink and black flecks!).
The Performance: For sourdough, using a high-quality salt ensures you aren’t adding unnecessary anti-caking chemicals to your fermentation process.

Simple Swap Comparison

Feature	Table Salt	Redmond Real Salt
Ingredients	Salt, Anti-caking agents, Dextrose	Ancient Sea Salt
Processing	Bleached & Heat-Processed	Unrefined & Air-Dried
Flavor	Sharp & Metallic	Clean & Complex

The “Good List” of Alternative Salts

1. Celtic Sea Salt (Le Marinier or Selina Naturally)

The Vibe: This is often a “moist” salt, appearing light grey.
Why it’s a winner: It’s hand-harvested from clay-lined pools in France. The grey color comes from the minerals in the clay. It’s unrefined and contains over 80 trace minerals.
Best Use: Great for seasoning meats or adding to water for natural electrolytes. (Note: because it’s moist, it doesn’t always flow well in a shaker!).

2. Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

The Vibe: Large, thin, pyramid-shaped flakes.
Why it’s a winner: This is a “clean” salt harvested in the UK with no additives. It is purely about texture.
Best Use: This is the ultimate Finishing Salt. Sprinkle it on top of your sourdough chocolate chip cookies or a fresh focaccia right before serving. That “crunch” is world-class.

3. Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt

The Vibe: Harvested from a pristine estuary in Baja, Mexico.
Why it’s a winner: It consistently tests as one of the highest mineral-content salts in the world and is naturally low in sodium chloride compared to table salt.
Best Use: General cooking and baking where you want maximum mineral density.

4. Icelandic Sea Salt (Saltverk)

The Vibe: Flaky, crunchy, and produced using 100% geothermal energy.
Why it’s a winner: It’s a very “clean” sustainable option. They also offer incredible infusions (like Lava Salt or Birch Smoked) that are all clean-label.

What to Look for in a “Good” Salt (The Checklist)

When you’re scanning the grocery aisle, use these three rules to spot a “Good Stuff” salt:

Rule #1: The Ingredient List should be ONE word.
- If you see “Salt,” you’re good. If you see “Sodium Silicoaluminate,” “Yellow Prussiate of Soda,” or “Dextrose,” leave it on the shelf. These are the anti-caking agents and stabilizers we want to avoid.
Rule #2: Look for “Unrefined” or “Ancient.”
- “Unrefined” means the trace minerals (magnesium, potassium, calcium) are still there. These minerals actually help balance the flavor so the salt doesn’t just taste like “burning” saltiness.
Rule #3: Avoid the “Bleach.”
- Pure white, perfectly uniform salt is almost always chemically bleached and heat-processed. Look for salts with color-pinks, greys, or off-whites are signs of natural mineral life.