If I had to pick one kitchen ingredient that we all took for granted, salt would be the one. Salt or sodium chloride is an essential element in the diet of humans, animals and even some plants. Since our human body cannot manufacture sodium and chloride itself, it must rely on the human consumption of salt to maintain a healthy body. Salt keeps nerves and muscles healthy, aids potassium absorption, supplies the essence of digestive stomach acid, and helps maintain blood pressure. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 mg/day of salt. It is believed that the vast majority of the world’s population consumes about 6-10 grams of salt a day, about 1.5 of those grams are consumed from the salt shaker on your table.
Salt has been in use since before we started recording history. Probably the earliest published word on salt was about 2,700 BC and talked about 40 different kinds of salt and a couple of methods of extracting salt and converting it to usable form. The Chinese were the first to make salt taxes a major revenue source since they realized everyone needed to consume salt. Although salt taxes were popular in most parts of the world, the United States never did participate. In North America salt has always been plentiful and very inexpensive. In ancient Greece the exchange of salt for slaves gave us the expression “not worth his salt.” The early salt rations given to Roman soldiers were known as “salarium argentum” or salary. There are more than 30 references to salt in the Bible, such as “salt of the earth.” So you see, this essential nutrient for our body also has a long interesting past. There are endless references to it throughout history.
The first reports of salt production in the United States came from the Onondaga Indians who would boil the brine from the salt springs. Next, solar salt was produced during the early 1800s by covering so-called evaporation pans from precipitation in sheds. Mechanical evaporation began in about 1833 and was soon followed by the concept of crystallizing salt in enclosed vacuum pans. In the late 1800s drillers began mining rock salt from a deposit in St. Clair, Michigan. Salt mining still continues today throughout North America. The United States is the world’s largest salt producer, producing 45 million tons a year.
Half of the salt produced in the United States is in the form of brines supplying chloralkali chemical companies. The other half is “dry salt,” which is produced using three basic technologies: solar evaporation of seawater or saline lakewater, solution mining and vacuum pan evaporation and rock salt mining. There are so many different uses for salt, such as for the production of chemicals like the deicer used on snowy roadways, for animal nutrition, for water conditioning and also most importantly human nutrition.
Salt is extremely important in food processing and cooking. It is used as a preservative to inhibit bacterial growth, and as a binder in processed and formed meat. As a texture aid it strengthens the gluten in bread dough and it controls the rate of fermentation. Salt produces and promotes the development of color in meats and baked goods.
Salt should be used as a flavor enhancer for a dish and not a flavoring in itself. A pinch too much or too little can have a profound effect on a dish. Salt raises the boiling point of water so it should be added after boiling is achieved to reduce cooking time. It also draws the moisture out of food so it should not be added to raw meat or it will drain it of its juice. Salt balances the action of yeast and in sweet mixtures it helps to develop flavor. Added to lightly beaten egg whites when preparing meringues; salt relaxes the protein, making it easier to whisk the whites into soft peaks. Add minimal salt when reducing a mixture because salt will not evaporate and the flavor can become too concentrated.
There are such a wide variety of salt and salt mixtures on the market today. Table salt contains potassium and iodide. Kosher salt is coarse-grained and free of additives that tend to cause pickling solutions to cloud. Sea salt is also coarse and along with kosher salt is more flavorful than table salt. Black salt is usually found in Indian markets and is strong in flavor and is more tan than black. Bamboo salt is sea salt roasted in bamboo and pickling salt, like kosher salt, is free of anti-caking additives that may cause pickling solutions to cloud. Rock salt is inedible and primarily used to make ice cream. There are also many herb and spice salts or seasonings that you can buy in the spice aisle of your local supermarket, as well as make at home. I’ve included some ideas to get you started, so take advantage of the many varieties of salts. After all, it’s something your body needs to stay healthy and nutritionally balanced.
This article appears in March 2024.