Not long ago, my foodie friend Laura (a gifted graduate of the Culinary Institute of America) held up the serving of dinner at a small dinner party because her husband was on his way home with precisely the right kind of salt.

The January 23rd issue of Newsweek says that Morton’s Iodized Salt (the one with a girl and an umbrella on the box) has overstayed its welcome. Gourmet taster David Burke can’t believe we’ve tolerated its “impure” flavor for 40 years.

Here are two fabulous menus of flavorful, mineral-packed cooking salts to review. The first, from a company called SaltWorks, the second from a company called PoshSalt. And coarse Kosher salt, available at most grocery stores today, still ranks well with cooking experts and is reasonably priced. You can store another big blue box of it by your bathtub, for it makes for an everyday bath salt too. Try adding a few drops of essential oil to the tub for a hydrating and relaxing soak.