Eli5: Why does the salt coarseness matter when cooking?
In: Chemistry
First is texture. Some salts are larger/flaky/crusty and can be good as a garnish (think sea salt on a chocolate brownie). Others dissolve more easily and just add flavor without any texture (think table salt). So you’d want to choose the salt that matches the use case you’re going for.
Second is standards/repeatability and communication. If you take a teaspoon of a coarse flaky salt vs finer kosher salt, the amount of saltiness you get from them will be different. A “pinch” of one salt is not necessarily equal to a “pinch” of another. The volumes are different. So it’s useful to specify the kind of salt in a recipe to prevent someone from misunderstanding and using the wrong amount of whatever their preferred/on hand salt is.
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