The Best Salt for Your Australian Woodwork Salt Grinder
Posted on June 18, 2019 by Sarah Davidson Comments (0)
This is an often asked question from customers who have bought one of our Salt and Pepper Mill sets and who want to keep these hand turned mills functional and working well down the years.
Our salt mills have an acrylic grinding mechanism
With the exception of our ceramic Chef’s mill, all of our salt mills have an imported, Danish, acrylic grinding mechanism which salt cannot corrode and which is backed by a 10-year guarantee. The acrylic grinding mechanism is softer than the metal one used in the matching pepper mills so some care needs to be taken in choosing the right salt for your grinder.
Any rock salt is a good choice but!
There are trade-offs with the size and type of the rock salt and the longevity of your salt mill! Mined rock salt is harder and has less moisture than evaporated sea-water rock salt and will put slightly more wear on your mill over the years. Large sized crystals will make your millwork harder than medium-sized crystals and how long the mechanism lasts depends on how often you use your mill too. Our advice is to choose the rock salt you prefer because in the end, we guarantee your mill for 10 years! After that time we will replace the mechanism, should it be necessary, at cost.
Let’s look at a few different salts
Large Himalayan rock crystals are good in our salt mills. These are mined rock crystals.
Medium size Himalayan rock crystals are the best, perfect size to make your mill last forever. These are also mined rock crystals, just a little smaller.
Large sized evaporated sea-water rock crystals are a good choice and a little softer than mined rock salt.
Fine sea salt crystals are now sold as cooking salt but are good in our mills too. CHOICE magazine says there is no difference in the contents of table salt and cooking salt except for the fineness. They are all basically sodium chloride with possibly an anti-caking agent and/or added iodine.
Sea salt flakes are not suitable for our acrylic grinding mechanisms; they have too much moisture and mash-up in the mill. They are much better served just as you see them here in one of our cute salt pots for the table!
Celtic sea salt or grey salt is likewise not suitable for our mills as it has high moisture content and clogs the mechanism – best served as pictured in a salt pot.
