Salt
Salt, or sodium chloride, is a mineral, one of the few rocks people eat. Saltiness is one of the basic flavors tasted by our tastebuds, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. Salt is required for life, but overconsumption can increase the risk of health problems, including high blood preasure. Salt can be reduced by 20% to 45% without compromising taste if a small amount of MSG is added to the food. Salt is also used to preserve food.
History
Salt has a long, varied, and sometimes violent history. It has been a highly valued trade item throughout history. Wars have been fought over it, states formed and destroyed because of it. During the late Roman Empire era and throughout the Middle Ages, salt was a precious commodity carried along the “Salt Roads” into the heartland of the Germanic tribes. Cites, states and dukedoms along the salt roads exacted heavy duties and taxes for the salt passing through their territories. This practice has caused wars, and it even started the formation of cities, such as the city of Munich in 1158 when the then-duke of Bavaria, Henry II, decided that the bishops of Freising no longer needed their salt revenue.
Types of salt
For the most part, the various grades of salt are all the same; chemically most are greater than 99 percent sodium chloride, but the structure varies widely. Simple table salt consists of small, compact cubic grains, while kosher salt has a much more irregular structure and a larger surface area. Popcorn salt is ground salt that dissolves very quickly. Rock salt is just that, large chunks of sodium chloride. These differences in structure can cause a significant change in the perceived flavor of the salt and its usefulness for particular recipes. The speed with which it dissolves is also very important, with finer salts such as pickling salt even dissolving readily in cold liquid.
Sea salt, made from evaporating seawater, also varies considerably. Because there are impurities in the water, each sea salt has a unique taste and is prized in different cuisines or for different applications. Sea salts often tend to cost considerably more than other kinds of salt; however, in areas with large seawater evaporation industries (such as California) the “table salt” in local stores may actually be sea salt.
Production
Salt comes from two sources, mining natural halite deposits and evaporation of seawater.