Those of us who still retain chunks of high school chemistry
know that there are numerous salts that can exist due to the ionic bond
interaction between a metal and a non metal, and could be found in various
locations. However, most common edible salt (sodium chloride) is mined from
large salt deposits by the salt lakes, globally. It is a mineral that is an
indispensable part of our diet due to its integral role in our neurology and
physiology.
Throughout the years, salt has been used for many purposes,
primarily, for enhancing the flavor of foods. It is also particularly useful as
a preservative. Salt can be used on fishes and meat to keep them fresh and
edible for long periods of time. The rich saline environment prevents the
growth of food spoilage bacteria such as clostridium botulinum
There are so many
different kinds of salt out there. Let’s go through some of them.
1. Table Salt aka Refined Salt:
This
is our plain old table salt, produced through an extensive refining process
that gets rid of impurities and trace minerals. The salt on your table is 97%
sodium chloride or even higher. A majority of you are most likely aware of iodized
salt too. Iodine was added to salt to counter and prevent iodine deficiency
taking place among people in certain areas where people would not have any
other means to include iodine in their diet. This fortification campaign was
pretty successful and prevented many from iodine deficiency conditions
including hypothyroidism and mental retardation.
2. Kosher Salt:
Kosher
salt is composed of coarser flakes of salt that has a different texture than regular
table salt, even though they both taste more or less the same. Due to the flaky
structure of kosher salts, chefs find it easy to pick them up and spread them
over food manually. The larger and flaky texture of this salt allows it to
extract all the blood from the meat efficiently. Extracting all the blood from
meat before consumption is a Jewish custom. Hence, the name “kosher”.
3. Celtic Salt:
This salt is usually grayish in color
and holds some water in its crystals, making it a moist salt. It is lower in
sodium content when compared to your regular table salt, but contains traces of
minerals.
The Celtic Salt
doesn’t come cheap. It is harvested from the Celtic Sea marshes in France
through the 2000 year old method of solar evaporation. Talking about expensive
salts, the fleur
de sel is even more expensive, and is harvested from salt marshes in Guerande
which only forms when winds blow from the east.
4. Rock Salt:
Rock Salts are highly crystalline pure
salts that come in large chunks. It is not the kind of salt you’d commonly
sprinkle on your food but it is widely used in the ice cream industry and other
food industries. Additionally, they are also used as effective ice melter salts
or road salt to clear your driveway
and pavements, as well as bath salts too.
Whether you are looking for road salt or rock salt for food additive purposes, you
can count on Rock Salt USA to provide
you with high quality product only.
