Maybe people need some physics input. Every sodium atom and ion in the universe is absolutely identical to the best of our knowledge, which is fairly extensive.
In soup and general cooking, salting pasta water etc., it doesn’t matter, but not sprinkled on your eggs, or on your chocolate, or caramel, on salads, in that situation the shape of the salt, the flavor from it’s origins, and it’s intensity, and the way it blends or melts into the dish, all count.
I’m only just starting to play with those expensive salts and those Malden salt flakes on eggs is great, they aren’t just salt, they are large soft flakes which give little bursts of salt flavor.
Start using a finishing salt and don’t tell people, and you will see them give positive reactions.
“Every sodium atom and ion is identical ...”
LOL!! Post of the week.
True, but the differentiation is the mix of other elements and compounds.
Sea salt from that part of the Med is different from that harvested from Hawaiian waters, or even 200M year old stuff from ancient sea beds in Badlands of the US.
How about smoked sea salt from Norway?
I like sea salt, preferable flaked, but I'm happy with cheap kosher salt.