WELCOME TO OUR Q&A FORUM!
MILK STREET INSIDERS WILL RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM A MILK STREET EXPERT WITHIN 2 BUSINESS DAYS.
TRY ANY PLAN 12 WEEKS FOR $1.
VIEW ALL SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS HERE.
GOT A CUSTOMER SERVICE QUESTION? PLEASE EMAIL info@177milkstreet.com

Crispy smashed potatoes too salty!

I am wondering if anyone else has made the crispy smashed potatoes on page 9 of the November/December 2019 issue? I followed the recipe carefully and while the texture of the final product was as described (crispy and creamy) the potatoes were so salty as to be inedible. The recipe calls for boiling the potatoes in 2 quarts of water with 1 cup of salt.

Comments

  • I did not have an issue with the saltiness. What brand and kind (kosher, table, etc) of salt did you use?

  • I used Morton's table salt (would have preferred kosher but did not have enough).

  • edited November 2019

    I believe Milk Street typically uses Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. This salt is one of the least dense salts you can buy. By comparison, Morton's table salt is almost twice as dense- meaning that for the same volume of salt, you are actually using nearly twice the amount of salt by weight. You can substitute one for the other but you have to adjust quantities. These numbers are approximate: 1 tsp table salt = 1.5 tsp Morton Kosher = 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher.

    So in the potato recipe if using table salt you should use 1/2 cup, not a full cup.

    Hopefully that is right and I did not just embarrass myself.

  • Hi Katherine - Jason is correct (thanks, Jason!). When we call for salt amounts at Milk Street we are referring to the amount of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

    Simply put, the smaller the crystal, the more it weighs in a given volume, and therefore the more salt you are getting. For example, because of differences in crystal sizes, 1 teaspoon of table salt weighs as much as 2 teaspoons of coarser Diamond Crystal kosher salt. The largest crystals—and therefore the lightest—are Maldon sea salt flakes. Table salt, with its compact, sand-like crystals, is the smallest and heaviest.

    Therefore, as Jason mentions above, you would want to use 1/2 cup table salt for the potato recipe. Feel free to refer to the article and chart we published on salt here: https://www.177milkstreet.com/2017/06/salt-talk

    Hope this helps! Best, Lynn C.

Sign In or Join to comment or create discussion. Comment as Guest.