I know I'm more than two years late, but Thanksgiving once again is upon us and I was looking for articles comparing different kinds of salt. I found "Worth One's Salt" that Slate published in April, 2005.

It seems all television cooks tout kosher salt and I've always suspected that in part it's because a huge salt company is an advertiser on their networks. Kosher salt - while still cheap - costs about fifty percent more than regular table salt, according to your article. That's a lot of money for a salt company and would be good reason for it to promote kosher salt over regular table salt.

Now, for some things, kosher salt is superior, such as for koshering meats. That's why it's called kosher salt. Under kosher laws, as much blood as possible must be drawn from meats and poultry before cooking. Kosher salt was designed to do just that.

But for most other uses, there is little or no difference.

An article in a 2002 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine, said that its taste testers felt that "all nine salts tasted pretty much the same" when dissolved in spring water and chicken stock, whether it was $0.36/pound iodized table salt, $0.66/pound kosher salt, or $36/pound Fleur de Sel de Camargue sea salt from France," according to Virtual Weber Bullet.com, a website of Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, which wants to sell smokers, not salt.

Now to your "Worth One's Salt" article. It ranks regular table salt near the bottom and kosher salt near the top. Maldon Sea Salt comes out on top, but at 65-cents an ounce I'd have to come out of retirement.

Your article had eight tasters judge nine salts based on three criteria: the finger dip, salt on a slice of cucumber, and in pasta sauce.

Except for the pasta test, the tasters could see each salt and therefore could guess which kind it was. In the pasta test, Maldon, which came out at the top of each of the other categories, finished third from last.

Is there a real difference in taste? Or is there just more cache to the salts that don't look like table salt (I agree that Nu Salt, which is potassium rather than sodium, is horrible, but it shouldn't have been included.)

If I want to feel sophisticated I'll go for the fancy-looking salts. For example, your writer describes Moldon as "giant pyramid-shaped flakes." The fact that it's British adds to the lure.

Cooks Illustrated performed a much more trustworthy test, at least when it comes to taste. As it says, when salt is dissolved in water or stock, there's hardly any difference.

It seems the marketers have hit a gold mine rather than a salt mine.

But of course, Slate appeals to yuppie types who would be as embarrassed to put ordinary salt on their guests' cucumbers as they would be to wear polyester suits.