News

Cargill launches foodservice salt

16 Aug 2016

According to Cargill, foodservice operators can improve the taste of their fried foods and seasonings better than before and will waste less salt using the company’s new Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher Salt.

According to Cargill, foodservice operators can improve the taste of their fried foods and seasonings better than before and will waste less salt using the company’s new Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher Salt.

This new addition to the Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt portfolio is said to have a finer cut, meaning that it stays on foods better and is more soluble than regular, granulated salt.

Granulated salt has a smooth, cubic, dice-like shape, according to Cargill, whereas Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher Salt is a finer cut of kosher salt with a non-uniform surface with many crevices and bumps. Among other benefits, the company says, this allows foodservice companies to use it as flake salt when they use a process called "dusting" to apply salt to food.

"This roughness helps it stick better to the surface of fried foods, whereas regular granulated salt is more likely to bounce off foods when it's applied,” said Cargill Salt Food Application Specialist, Julie Schuette. “This also helps bring out the full flavour of fried foods."

Salt used on French fries is also often an overlooked source of food waste, Cargill claims.

"A huge amount of salt falls to the tray below the fries because a good portion of the salt just doesn't adhere to the fry's surface," Schuette said. "These higher falloff rates, usually associated with regular granulated salt, lead to higher product waste and production costs."

Both Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher Salt use a late 19th century proprietary evaporation process that creates hollow, multifaceted crystals, according to Cargill. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt crystals are "fragile enough to crush between your thumb and index finger, for perfectly controlled seasoning," said Schuette.

For foodservice operations that craft back-of-the-house artisanal seasoning blends, dry rubs or brined meatballs or sausages, Cargill believes Fine Kosher is ideal, with its superior blending and solubility improving seasonings with even distribution, reducing spice hot spots. Fine Kosher salt is also said to be quick to dissolve, so wet brines can be prepared faster, and dry brines absorb more quickly.