Salt – the Good, the Bad and What Not to Buy
Time to settle this once and for all
Whether its carrot soup or roast chicken, or pumpkin pie, the one ingredient that is most essential but underrated is the humble salt. What do we know about that little jar of salt in the corner of every kitchen?
What does salt do to our food
Remember that warm wafting smell in your corridor that reminded you of the sweet summer in your childhood’s house? That smell is due to the salt that allows food molecules to be released in the air. We now know that aroma is an integral part of tasting our food. No dish can be made without assimilating salt with other spices and herbs. It is, without a doubt, the most critical seasoning in the kitchen because it satisfies one of the basic tastes — salty.
Salt is capable of elevating and subduing different flavors of our food. Salt can take the edge off the bitter, enhance the sweet and subdue the sour. It is an integral ingredient for desserts and savory cuisines. It won’t be wrong to say that every dish without a pinch of salt is incomplete, and it’s safe to say no one enjoys an under-salted or over-salted dish.
Salt also changes the structure of the food. It draws the water out from vegetables and tenderizes meat. That’s why never dress a salad unless ready to serve. Always salt the meat and let sit before cooking it. Cooking with salt allows beans and vegetables to cook faster. Salt also plays a big role in preserving and pickling. With the versatile role it plays, it is vital to know which salt to use and why. Salts are of different kinds, and each serves a different purpose and emits a distinct smell.
Types of Salt
This can fall under two broad categories – salt from the sea and salt from the earth.
Sea Salt
For centuries, people have been using sea salt by evaporating the sea water. The residual salts in its unrefined form, contain trace minerals from the sea and provide unique flavors and colors. Sea salt mostly contains sodium chloride, which is why breathing air near the seaside is also considered having healing powers. Iodine is naturally found in sea salt and one does need iodised salt when living near and breathing the sea air. Sea salt when crushed fine is great to use for everyday cooking as it dissolves easily. Flakes of sea salt, like fleur del sel or sel gris are best to use for finishing at the end of cooking – over chocolate desserts, fried potatoes or broiled fish.
Rock Salt
Rock salt comes from deep underground mineral deposits after evaporating sea and lake beds. It is dug up from the earth by mining or pumping water into the salt deposits and then evaporating it to get to the salt. Rock salt has its own assortment of trace minerals which can impact its taste and and their color varies depending on how many minerals they contain. Rock salts do not contain the iodide mineral found in sea salt. Rock salt or known as sendha namak in India is used for fasting, especially during Navratri, because it is low in sodium and high in potassium which gives an energy boost by maintaining the level of electrolytes to keep the body going during fasting periods.
The most well known of rock salts is Himalayan Pink Salt. This salt is considered the purest form of salt in the world and comes from the Khewra Salt Mine, 5000 feet below the Himalayan mountains of Pakistan. This salt contains 80+ natural minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, and iron, which is why it is pink. Ayurveda considers this salt to be holistic and recommends it for daily use.
A lesser known rock salt is Black salt which is also found in concentration in the Himalayan vicinities. Black salt comprises sulfur compounds, which explains its popularity for the sulphuric flavor that gives a unique and strong taste that cannot be acquired using any other ingredient. It is a highly favored ingredient in Indian recipes, especially chaats.
Processed Salts
Two of the most used salt types are Table salt and Kosher salt. So let’s break it down and see for ourselves:Table salt is one of the most used salt in the kitchen, and it is precisely this kind that we find in our salt shakers. The best thing about Table salt is that it has tiny grains, which makes it easy to dissolve and measurable because of its fine and consistent size. But table salt is also the most processed salt in that it is bleached to remove minerals in order to make it white and contains additives like anti caking agents to make it free flowing. This is quite unhealthy if you take it in large amounts, but it inadvertently happens because of its ultra-fine powdered form.There is more salt in a pinch of fine salt as compared to coarse grain salt.
Some table salts are iodized. They are supplemented potassium iodide or iodate to prevent iodine deficient conditions in inland areas where iodine rich fish, sea vegetables or salts from the sea or sea air are unavailable. This trace mineral imparts a slight bitter taste and is not preferred by chefs.
Kosher salt is widely used in western kitchens. It is loved for dissolving fast making it easier to check for salt and avoid oversalting. It has a larger grain size than regular table salt and is usually sprinkled on top of meat and vegetables while pan-frying them to gauge maximum flavor. Kosher salt does not contain added iodine and only a minuscule amount of anti-caking agent, which is why it is highly favored by restaurants. But it does not offer any benefits of trace minerals as it has also been highly processed and bleached.
What does salt do for our body?
Salt has healing powers – to cure and curb. As we mindlessly add a pinch to our stirring pots, without ever pausing in between to question, or curiously wonder, why salt is essential. Only when a health condition surfaces that propels us to see medical practitioners, we realize that most of them advise against consuming a large amount of salt. And, it is then that we are compelled to research the benefits and disadvantages of salt. Salt in itself is not harmful. In fact, body uses salt to balance fluids in the blood and maintain healthy blood pressure, and it is also essential for nerve and muscle function.
Of course, salt, like anything else, is harmful when taken in abundance. Much like the healing powers, salt’s detrimental effects also depend on the type of salt you’re consuming. Just like it is not recommended to consume processed food regularly, now you know to not use processed salts in your regular daily cooking.
So which salt to buy?
Why not have different types of salt in your pantry?! The next time you are shopping for groceries, select both – sea salt and rock salts, now that you know what each one does. You can even select salts from different parts of the world if that is available to you. Mix and match them in your daily cooking to enjoy the benefits each has to offer.
Author: Annu Verghese