Blog 6: Salt

December 4, 2013

Salt is a mineral substance composed of sodium chloride (NaCl). It is an ionic compound.

Salt has been best known as a food preserver. In ancient years before refrigerators and other means of preservers, salt was all there was to keep food fresh. It was a mineral of great value.  Salt became one of the world’s main trading commodities. Everyone wanted salt because of its ability to keep foods fresh. In the Middle East, salt was used to ceremonially seal an agreement. In Africa, salt was used a currency.

Without salt, there would be no way to preserve food before the invention of refrigerators. It is also used in seasoning food. There are three main types of salt. They are; kosher salt, sea salt, and table salt.

 Kosher salt taste less salty than table salt and sea salt. This salt got its name from the Jewish practice of koshering their meats. Kosher has much larger granites than table salt. The larger structure holds in moisture.

Sea salt is directly harvested from evaporated sea water. There is hardly any processing if any at all. Sea salt is costly and is recommended to use on food after cooking so that the taste of the salt isn’t gone.

Table salt is much cheaper than Kosher and Sea salt. It is heavily processed. Contains additives to prevent clumping. Can be iodized.

Humans need salt to survive, but they do not need an excess amount. Salt is really interesting because in the old days it was used more than just an extra flavor in food. People now use salt all the time in cooking. I was also interested in salt because there is more than just table salt. I have heard of sea salt, but I never had heard of kosher salt.