Having come to cooking late in life... read that as "got divorced and had to learn about cooking, or be prepared to live out my life on carry-out food" ... I've only just learned about Maldon Salt.
As I understand it, it's used primarily as a "finishing" salt. So, you're not really using it IN the baking or cooking, but you'll use it at the plating stage, where it will add to the texture/crunch of the meal. Sprinkle it generously on desserts, caramel, vegetables or meat.
Maldon is an English flake sea salt, with a grand history of making it's way to the east crossing deserts on the backs of dromedary camels. It has a large flat surface, making it easy to stick to foods.
I have learned, too, that salt is not just salt. Morton's Kosher salt is twice as "salty" as Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. So when your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, or 1 cup of kosher salt.... it will taste completely differently depending on which brand you choose. Who knew!?
Fortunately, I live mere blocks away from Evanston's The Spice House, which has a wealth of different salts (and plenty of other spices) to experiment with.
Buon Appetito!
