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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => INGREDIENTS - Everything Else => Topic started by: Sailor Con Queso on December 08, 2010, 06:45:21 PM

Title: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on December 08, 2010, 06:45:21 PM
My grocery store was out of the Kosher salt that I normally use so I picked out a substitute. It does not contain iodine, but was marked "free flowing". I was in a hurry, making a Stilton, so I used it without reading the entire label. Turns out the free flowing is because of the addition of Sodium Silicoaluminate. This is an anticaking agent that absorbs moisture up to 75% of its weight. It is commonly used in cake mixes, powdered sugar, nondairy creamers, dry cheese products, and lots of various dry mixes. It is slightly alkaline and has no known toxicity. That's a good thing and the Stilton will probably be fine. But I can tell the water absorbing properties REALLY effected the moisture content of that Stilton. Not nearly as much drainage as usual, and the blue is coming on very slowly.

I'll read the label a little more carefully next time.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: tananaBrian on December 08, 2010, 10:38:03 PM
Wow... I never thought of that.  Thanks for posting!
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: FarmerJd on December 08, 2010, 11:21:07 PM
Good tip Sailor. Thanks.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: MrsKK on December 08, 2010, 11:57:56 PM
Thanks for the warning, Sailor!
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Cheese Head on December 09, 2010, 12:49:13 AM
So you're saying your that because your Stilton had a runny nose/allergies, you gave it a decongestant/antihistamine :o!

Mmmmmm Sodium Silicoaluminate, love how it roles of the tongue, I'll have to open one of those little shipping packages of crystals and try some! While it may not be bad for humans I can't believe it's good as it's not something our ancestors ate for the last 30,000 years. Thanks for the new to me info!
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on December 09, 2010, 02:12:14 AM
For what it's worth, it is an FDA approved food supplement used in lots of products. I just don't want it in my cheese. The implications of using a "desiccant" in a cheese are really interesting.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: tananaBrian on December 09, 2010, 03:44:59 AM
So you're saying your that because your Stilton had a runny nose/allergies, you gave it a decongestant/antihistamine :o!
<snip>

...Maybe it's a MOLD allergy like I have!  ::) ;D O0
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Cheese Head on December 17, 2010, 01:35:54 PM
Eeek, OK I just realized that we have the same "Free Flowing" salt in cupboard and that I have used it on Camemberts before I think!
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: tananaBrian on December 17, 2010, 06:55:33 PM
I took a look at the various salts that we have, and sure enough, the ALL have different compounds in them and according to the web, they are mostly in there to reduce moisture in the salt so it won't clump up.  I'm going to start reading the labels more carefully, or just buy genuine cheese salt off the web...

Thanks for the heads up!

Brian
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: KosherBaker on December 31, 2010, 05:42:34 PM
(http://www.cargill.com/salt/wcm/groups/public/@cseg/@salt/@assets/documents/image/na3012279.jpg)
Sailor is this the salt you normally use? I've been seeing it "on sale" at Whole Foods for the past few weeks at $2.50 per box.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: ArnaudForestier on December 31, 2010, 06:54:15 PM
Ugh.  Have always used kosher salt for a lot of things, with the exception of dusting meats (Bretagne, fleur de sel) and fishes (sel gris) with a light crystal or few just before serving.  I had thought "kosher" meant no additives could be used, but sure enough, the "free flowing agent" is there in Morton's (http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/foodsalts/Coarse_kosher.htm), for instance.   They list themselves as "the only branded coarse kosher salt on the market," but Diamond  (http://www.diamondcrystalsalt.com/Culinary/Products/Kosher-Salt.aspx)touts the coarse, additive-free texture.  Thanks for the heads-up, Sailor.

Edited to add:  posted before seeing kosherbaker's post.  Kosherbaker, that is Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and as the link above indicates, Diamond claims this salt is additive-free.  My only question remains, is the "free flowing agent" not legally considered an "additive," as Diamond states (http://www.diamondcrystalsalt.com/Culinary/FAQs.aspx#q1) "kosher salt contains no additives" and yet at least Morton's very definitely contains the free-flowing stuff, though it is labeled "kosher."  Confused. 
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on January 01, 2011, 06:03:51 PM
I have been using the Mortons Kosher, but that too contains Sodium Silicoaluminate. I feel that is very deceptive for a Kosher product.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: ArnaudForestier on January 01, 2011, 06:08:37 PM
I have been using the Mortons Kosher, but that too contains Sodium Silicoaluminate. I feel that is very deceptive for a Kosher product.

Agreed.  I've always used it on the presumption it's truly been a "pure," if simple (NaCl) salt. (One of the reasons I like fleur de sel, etc, as a finishing salt is for its trace mineral content, and consequently its complexity/length of flavor).
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: tinysar on March 15, 2012, 07:57:43 AM
Wow, I wish that our salt had sodium aluminosilicate in it. Well, actually some of it does - and then some of it has this stuff instead:
Quote
Sodium ferrocyanide is a chemical additive known as E 535. It is added to road and food grade salt as an anticaking agent.
Sodium ferrocyanide is a yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol. Despite the presence of the cyanide ligands, sodium ferrocyanide is not especially toxic (acceptable daily intake 0–0.025 mg/(kg body weight) because the cyanides are tightly bound to the metal. However, like all ferrocyanide salt solutions, addition of an acid (a hydrogen donor) can result in the production of cyanide gas (HCN), which is toxic.
Lovely. Just what I want in my low-pH cheese  ::)

Aargh! Why is it so hard just to buy clean basic ingredients?!
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: dthelmers on March 15, 2012, 01:17:37 PM
I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, it is straight sodium chloride, and it clumps a bit. I shake the box to break it up before pouring. In the salt shaker, I put a few grains of rice in to absorb humidity. If I lived in an area where this was not readily available, I'd order it in a big sack. Lots more choice in types of salt when you buy bulk.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Montie Derby on March 15, 2012, 01:23:16 PM
I Googled  Sodium Silicoaluminate diamond and this data sheet came up:

http://www.cargill.com/salt/static/DM029116_LatestReleased_DM029116_Web.pdf (http://www.cargill.com/salt/static/DM029116_LatestReleased_DM029116_Web.pdf)

If I'm reading it right, I think Diamond Crystal is OK.

Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: H-K-J on March 15, 2012, 02:18:41 PM
OH CRAP!! :o I've been using Morton kosher also! SHOOT now I've gottuh throw out my 2 month old Stilton I am not happy!! :'(
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: dthelmers on March 15, 2012, 03:37:00 PM
I used to use Morton Kosher salt, but I switched over for two reasons: even if the anti-caking agent is OK to eat, I'd just rather have my salt contain salt, and when I make pickles the anti-caking agent seems to make for a cloudy brine, where the straight sodium chloride doesn't. I didn't notice any difference in the many cheeses I made between Morton and Diamond Crystal, but I did notice it last summer pickling, so I switched.
It may be my imagination, but DC seems to dissolve more quickly when I make brine.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on March 15, 2012, 04:31:03 PM
NO, you don't have to throw out your Stilton.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Cloversmilker on March 15, 2012, 06:47:23 PM
My Morton canning and pickling salt has 'SALT' listed as its sole ingredient. 
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: margaretsmall on March 15, 2012, 09:52:43 PM
I've been intrigued to see that my local supermarket (Coles, for Australian listers) has two housebrands of cooking salt, one of which lists the anti-caking agent and the other doesn't. The 'pure' one was cheaper, if my memory serves me correctly.
Margaret
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: tinysar on March 16, 2012, 01:58:11 AM
I can buy "sea salt" quite cheaply - it's just the "table" and "cooking" salts that have additives in them (I don't really believe that they'd ruin my cheese, I just object on principle to paying for unwanted additions to my food) - does anyone know of any reason that sea salt might be bad for cheese? Naturally-high iodine levels or anything like that?
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on March 16, 2012, 02:46:35 AM
Sea salt can definitely have lots of iodine. IMHO it's not the best choice for making cheese.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Boofer on March 16, 2012, 03:28:50 PM
Until recently, I was blindly trusting Morton Kosher Salt to be just salt. The kind folks on the forum advised me that it might be more than salt. I looked and found that it had something called "Yellow Prussiate of Soda", or Sodium ferrocyanide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_ferrocyanide).

Here are its uses:
"Sodium ferrocyanide is a chemical additive known as E 535. It is added to road and food grade salt as an anticaking agent.[2] When combined with iron, it converts to a deep blue pigment called Prussian blue.[3] In photography, it is used for bleaching, toning, and fixing. It is used as a stabilizer for the coating on welding rods. In the petroleum industry, it is used for removal of mercaptans."

Now I use pickling salt which lists just salt on the label. So what good is the word "Kosher"? It certainly doesn't translate to "purity".

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: H-K-J on March 16, 2012, 04:33:00 PM
NO, you don't have to throw out your Stilton.

WHEW!! }}}sighing with relief{{{   ;) Thanks Sailor
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: CdnMorganGal on March 24, 2012, 09:58:22 AM
The name/term kosher salt does not mean the salt is kosher (pure) but rather that the salt crystals are sufficiently large to bleed out meat (which is called koshering the meat).  If the salt actually is kosher it will have a circled K or U on the package.

In southern Ontario, dont know about other parts of the country or the US, I have found Aurora brand Mediterranean Sea Salt, available in both fine and coarse crystals in Italian grocery stores and smaller grocery chain stores.   It has no additives, has the circled U on the box and it is cheaper than some or most pickling/kosher/additive free salts (about $2.50/kg).  Whenever I visit Canada I stock up on this salt because in Costa Rica you cannot buy iodine-free salt.

Ya know, googling for information can be helpful! lol
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: H-K-J on March 24, 2012, 03:35:15 PM
Like Sailor said reed the ingredients  :) $1.50
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: mtncheesemaker on March 25, 2012, 02:59:11 PM
Here we have Kroger brand "kosher" salt, which is pure salt, but in a coarser grain for sprinkling on the surface of the cheese.
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: weaverlorelei on July 23, 2012, 11:00:17 PM
Another salt you can find, at least during harvest, is Morton's Canning and Pickling salt.  Not anti caking agents, pure NaCl
Title: Re: Salt, Free Flowing - Read The Ingredients Label
Post by: Alpkäserei on October 30, 2012, 05:46:18 PM
Any canning salt will be pure salt, because it has to be.

If salt has iodine or anti-caking agents in it, then it will interfere with a lot of canning and pickling processes. Pickling, as you might know, is a fermentation process and the presence of just about any chemical salt additive will cause the process to go wrong. Same with sauerkraut where we have to use only pure salt.