I have wondered about the advantages of kosher vs. regular for a while, having watched a lot of cooking shows, but what sparked my post was seeing a box of the MortonÂs version in Walmart last week. Thinking, "Whoa! Kosher salt has now gone mainstream!" I decided I had to know what, if anything, I was missing. I picked up a box of the Mortons Kosher version to look today; saw the yellow prussiate of soda listed as the anti-caking agent. I think I need to find out that that is before buying any of THAT brand. I guess that it is an ingredient that is approved by a rabbi? The name is kind of scary. I find myself visualizing World War I era Prussians wearing yellow uniforms. Whereas the anti-caking agent in regular salt must not be (must not be rabbi-approved, I donÂt mean not scary)? ItÂs starting to look like the only reason to use kosher salt is to be able to pinch. (and of course all the TV chefs pinch, right? I never see them shaking their herbs or spices from a bottle either. ItÂs always a pinch from a cute little bowl.) Since IÂm comfortable with the shaker, and donÂt use much salt anyway, maybe IÂll stick with that. Unless I decide to try out sea saltÂ.I think I can get that for a shaker.

My grandmother used salt in another way. She was the dutiful wife of a sweet minister who, without consulting her, purchased and planted many various fruit trees in their back yard. Two were in the way of the wash line, or maybe the story was they were berry trees and the birds would stain the wash. Anyhow, she wanted them gone but did not have the heart to point out to her sweet husband the bad planning. So every time she went into the back yard, she put several handfuls of salt into her apron pocket and liberally sprinkeled the root zone of these two trees with salt. Before long, they died of some unexplainable blight, and grandma had her wash line to her liking.

lette_04- I've been through several brands of salt grinders over the years. My first grinder I bought from King Arthur Flour Company was an Emsa, but it had a small chamber and was difficult to change the grind. I now use it to grind whole nigella seeds (a nice change-of-pace taste to black pepper). We had a set of small and large G'Rabbit grinders (has ears that look like a rabbit and they were almost a kitchen "pet"). Very easy to use with one hand, but we managed to break the ears on one of the small ones, and both sizes were messy. Fast forward several years.... I have a pair of OXO salt and pepper grinders I really like, and OXO has several different styles available. The ones I have are at the Amazon link below. I purchased mine at K-Mart, on sale, for about half the Amazon price. You can easily change the coarseness of the grind with your thumb (5 choices of grind). They are easy to use if you have a small hand (with a nice soft grip), they don't take up much cabinet space and are easy to refill. Because they store with the grinder up, you don't have a mess where ever you store them. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: OXO Salt Grinder

Georgysmom, that's exactly the way I am. I always said that if I ever bought a house the first thing I would take out are the jacuzzi tubs. They all have them, and they're just water and energy hogs. Give me a large shower. I use the tub for cleaning the kitty litter boxes, and that's it, and now, taking boring baths. Grainlady, if I'm not absorbing the magnesium, what other benefits are there to epsom salts? I've heard for years that soaking in them is good for you. Moni, I keep the raisins in a glass jar with the lid on, once they've absorbed the gin. I guess there's no need to have them sealed in a jar, I can keep them covered with the coffee filter that I use initially. Maybe that will alleviate the taste somewhat. I think it's also the sweetness of the raisins I'm not keen on as well, so it's a double-whammy for me. Rhizo, I can sit and watch a tv show or two, and I like sorting recipes or doing a jigsaw puzzle at the same time. When I get tired, I start rubbing my feet on the carpet. Hubby wonders I have any soles left in my socks at all. But laying in a tub or at a spa is a total waste of time for me. I'll try reading a book, and Yayagal, I like the idea of the whole towel over my body. I do put my facecloth on my chest but mmmmmm a hot towel would be nice.