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Pickling Salt vs. Kosher Salt: Grain, Additives and Safe Swaps for Pickles

By · Reviewed · 15 sources

Pickling Salt vs Kosher Salt

Pickling salt and kosher salt are both sodium chloride, and either can go into a jar of pickles. The catch is the grain. Pickling salt packs densely into a spoon, while kosher salt is much coarser, so a spoonful holds less salt, and how much less depends on the brand. In a fermented pickle, where salt is part of what keeps the food safe, that gap matters. Oklahoma State University Extension’s fix is simple: swap them by weight, not by the spoon.1

Side by side

Pickling saltKosher salt
What it isSalt sold for canning and pickling; Morton says its version blends easily with liquid to make a clear brine2Coarse-grained salt named for its use in koshering meat
GrainSame crystal size as table salt1Much coarser than table salt. Diamond Crystal forms hollow pyramids; Morton is pressed into thin flakes3
AdditivesSold for clear brines; check the label, since Morton’s product page lists no ingredientsMorton: yellow prussiate of soda, an anticaking agent.4 Diamond Crystal: none, per ATK3
IodineNot stated on Morton’s product pageNot usually iodized5
Grams per teaspoonNo published figure; Morton’s chart treats it as equal to table salt, which ATK weighs at about 6 g63Morton 4.8 g; Diamond Crystal 2.8 g (ATK)3
Canning guidanceRecommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation7Usable for brined or fermented pickles only if weighed (OSU)1
Other jobsMorton lists cooking, baking, marinating and brining2Morton suggests brining poultry4
FlavorSaltySalty

Grain: why a spoonful isn’t a spoonful

Bigger grains leave more air between them. OSU Extension explains that more of pickling salt’s finer grains fit in a tablespoon, so measuring kosher salt by the spoon in a pickling recipe puts in less salt than the recipe calls for.1 The AHA makes the same point about coarse salts in general: they have less sodium per teaspoon only because fewer crystals fit.8

How much less depends on the brand of kosher salt, and the published conversions don’t agree. Morton treats its canning and pickling salt as equal to its table salt by volume,6 so the table-salt conversions apply:

For 1 teaspoon of pickling (or table) salt: the sources disagree

SourceMorton kosherDiamond Crystal
ATK’s rule of thumb1½ teaspoons2 teaspoons
Morton’s conversion chart (Morton products only)1¼ teaspoonsnot covered
Computed from ATK’s own gram weights (6.0 ÷ 4.8 and 6.0 ÷ 2.8)1¼ teaspoonsabout 2⅛ teaspoons

Sources: ATK rule,910 Morton chart,6 ATK weights.3 We’re showing the disagreement instead of picking a winner, and the same table appears on our kosher salt page. Look at what it implies, though. A rule of “50% more kosher salt” fits Morton’s brand at best, and leaves a recipe made with Diamond Crystal short by about 30%. By our math, 1½ teaspoons of Diamond Crystal at 2.8 g a teaspoon is about 4.2 g, against about 6 g of fine salt.

Additives and a clear brine

Home-canning guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), adapted from the USDA, recommends canning or pickling salt.7 The reasons are about looks, not safety:

  • Anticaking agents in other salts may make the brine cloudy,11 and an anticaking agent or other additives can leave a white sediment in the jar.12
  • Iodized salt is listed as one cause of dark or discolored pickles, though you can make pickles safely with either iodized or noniodized table salt.127
  • Flake salt isn’t recommended, because its density varies.7

That’s why the kosher brand matters. Morton’s kosher salt contains yellow prussiate of soda, an anticaking agent,4 the kind of additive canning guides warn can cloud a brine. Diamond Crystal has none, according to ATK.3 We found no test of how much Morton’s additive actually clouds a pickle brine. You’ll often hear that no kosher salt has additives. That’s true of one major brand, not both.

Dissolving

Kosher salt’s coarser grains dissolve more slowly than table salt. Morton describes its canning and pickling salt as blending easily with liquid to make a clear brine.2 We found no timed comparison of the two in brine. Either way, stir until the brine is clear and you’re set.

Why the amount matters in pickles

For sauerkraut and brined or fermented pickles, salt favors the growth of desirable bacteria while holding back others, and NCHFP warns against making them with less salt than the recipe calls for.11 The University of Kentucky’s extension guide says plainly that in these products the salt is necessary for safety.13 Quick vinegar pickles are different. Both sources say you can safely cut their salt, at some cost to quality.1113

So a short measure of kosher salt is a quality problem in a quick pickle. In a brined or fermented one, OSU says it puts quality and, more importantly, safety at risk.1

Can one stand in for the other?

Yes, if you mind the measurement. These match our pickling salt substitute and kosher salt substitute pages.

SwapStarting amountTreatment
Kosher salt for pickling salt, fermented or brined picklesWeigh the recipe’s amount of table or pickling salt, then use the same weight of kosher saltComputed
Kosher salt for pickling salt, quick vinegar picklesPer tablespoon: 1¼ tablespoons Morton or 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal, then taste the brineDisputed
Pickling salt for kosher salt, either job, by weightThe same weightComputed
Pickling salt for 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt¾ teaspoon, then tasteMethod
Pickling salt for 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal½ teaspoon, then tasteMethod

How these were worked out. By weight: OSU Extension says kosher salt can substitute if you measure it by weight. Since table salt has the same crystal size as canning and pickling salt, it suggests weighing the recipe’s amount of table salt and matching it.1 The Codex standard requires food-grade salt to be at least 97% sodium chloride on a dry basis,14 so equal weights carry close to the same salt. By volume: for quick pickles we start at the lower figures in the disagreement table above, since NCHFP and Kentucky say their salt can be safely reduced.1113 Pickling salt in place of kosher just reverses the conversions (1 ÷ 1¼ is ⅘ and 1 ÷ 2 is ½), rounded down so you start low. For seasoning meat by hand, fine salt is easy to overdo, so sprinkle from a height and taste.

Which to use when

  • Pickling salt: tested canning and pickling recipes, which is what NCHFP recommends,7 and anywhere you’d use fine table salt. With no anticaking agent, it may clump in humid weather.
  • Kosher salt: seasoning meat and vegetables by hand, and brining poultry, which Morton suggests for its kosher salt.4 In pickles, weigh it, and pick an additive-free brand if a clear brine matters to you.

Health notes

  • Sodium. Weight for weight, they’re the same: table salt, kosher salt and most sea salts are about 40% sodium.8 Morton’s kosher label gives 1.2 g and 480 mg of sodium per ¼ teaspoon.4 Kosher salt only lowers your sodium if you end up using less salt by weight.
  • Iodine. Kosher salt isn’t usually iodized,5 and pickling salt is sold as a plain salt for brines. If you count on salt for iodine, keep iodized salt for the table. See iodized vs. non-iodized salt.

What isn’t known

  • There’s no published grams-per-teaspoon figure for canning and pickling salt, and Morton’s product page carries no nutrition panel or ingredient list.
  • We didn’t find anyone who’s tested how much Morton kosher salt’s anticaking agent clouds a pickle brine.
  • We found no timed comparison of how fast either one dissolves in brine.
  • ATK’s rule of thumb and its own gram weights disagree for Morton kosher salt.

Footnotes

  1. Canning and Pickling Salt, Oklahoma State University Extension, 2026. extension.okstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. Morton Canning and Pickling Salt, product page, Morton Salt. mortonsalt.com · Merchant ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Kate Shannon Levine, The Best Kosher Salt, America’s Test Kitchen, 2019. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Morton Kosher Salt Flakes, product page, Morton Salt. mortonsalt.com · Merchant ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Iodine: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. ods.od.nih.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩2

  6. Salt Conversion Chart, Morton Salt. mortonsalt.com · Merchant ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Salts Used in Pickling, National Center for Home Food Preservation, adapted from USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. nchfp.uga.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  8. Sodium Sources: Where Does All That Sodium Come From?, American Heart Association, 2025. heart.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  9. Salt Types and Measurements, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

  10. Eden Faithfull, The Wrong Brand of Kosher Salt Could Ruin Your Dinner, America’s Test Kitchen, 2022. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

  11. General Information on Pickling, National Center for Home Food Preservation, reviewed 2018. nchfp.uga.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  12. Causes and Possible Solutions for Problems with Pickled Foods, National Center for Home Food Preservation. nchfp.uga.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  13. Sandra Bastin and Annhall Norris, Home Canning Pickled and Fermented Foods (FCS3-582), University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, reviewed 2019. publications.ca.uky.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. Standard for Food Grade Salt, CXS 150-1985 (rev. 2012), Codex Alimentarius. services.bis.gov.in · Standard ↩

Also drawn on

  • Q: Besides being kosher for religious purposes, what’s the difference between kosher salt and other salt? (16 Nov 2013, updated 17 Sep 2019), Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. nutritionletter.tufts.edu