The 2 Types Of Salt Alex Guarnaschelli Keeps In Her Kitchen At All Times

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Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is no stranger to an intentional splurge on quality pantry items, but not everything in her kitchen needs to be a fancy ingredient. Paying more for high-quality ingredients like extra virgin olive oil and butter can take your dishes to the next level, however, you can offset the costs of those more expensive items with affordable pantry staples like basic salts. In a video posted to her TikTok, Guarnaschelli shows us the only two types of salt that she keeps in her kitchen. While she admires how pretty salts like pink Himalayan and black lava are, the chef relies on only two unfussy salts to use every day: kosher salt and coarse salt. 

Guarnaschelli says that she uses kosher salt for cheaper applications, like salting water for cooking pasta or what she refers to as "heavy lifting," when she'll need to use handfuls of the salt. Kosher salt is the workhorse of professional kitchens, especially Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, as it's hollow flakes of salt are lighter and can be used more liberally without the risk of over-seasoning. Not all kosher salts are the same, however, and it's important to know the difference between brands, like the two most popular Morton's and Diamond Crystal, as they will not season or preform the same. A teaspoon of Morton's will lead to much saltier food compared to a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal.

Alex Guarnaschelli's other staple salt is a coarse salt, and her preference is the eternally popular Maldon flaked sea salt. While it's commonly used as a finishing salt due to its large pyramid-shaped crystals, Guarnaschelli uses the coarse salt to season large cuts of meat, especially those with longer cooking times. Guarnaschelli explains that when working with big cuts of meat, heavy seasoning is important, and due to the exterior of the meat being wet, the large salt crystals begin to adhere to the meat and melt right away. Guarnaschelli also breaks up the coarse salt with her fingers as she sprinkles it on the meat.

You can find small boxes of Maldon sea salt at most grocery stores, but you can also buy a 20-ounce tub at Costco for an extremely reasonable price if you're really ready to commit to a fancy coarse salt. Of course, if you want to expand your salt collection in your pantry, we encourage that. There are so many beautiful salts available from all around the world, like French sel gris or red Alaea salt from Hawaii, not to mention a plethora of flavored and infused salts. For more tips on stocking your kitchen with the essentials, check out the 16 ingredients Alex Guarnaschelli keeps in her pantry.