Salt

Salt Na-cl is a natural mineral made up of white cube shaped crystals composed of two elements sodium and chlorine.  It is translucent colourless and odourless officially though we think you can smell the freshness of the sea in one of our boxes and has a distinctive and characteristic taste. Salt occurs naturally in many parts of the world in mineral form and has been mined for thousands of years. Chemically sea salt is the same. Gastronomically it’s very different. Our rather firm views on salt are not shared by everybody. Some alternative points of view among the sources below’ included here in a spirit of salty open mindedness rather than agreement. Table salt or common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride Na-cl a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts. Salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Humans have always tended to build communities either around sources of salt’ or where they can trade for it. There is more salt in animal tissues such as meat’ blood and milk than there is in plant tissues. Salt is mostly sodium chloride the ionic compound with the formula Na-cl representing equal proportions of sodium and chlorine. Salt is essential to the health of humans and other animals and is one of the five basic taste sensations. Salt is used in many cuisines around the world and is often found in salt shakers on diners' eating tables for their personal use on food. Salt is also an ingredient in many manufactured foodstuffs. Table salt is a refined salt containing about 98 to 95 percent sodium chloride. Anticaking agents such as sodium aluminosilicate or magnesium carbonate are added to make it free flowing. Iodized salt containing potassium iodide is widely available. Some people put a desiccant such as a few grains of uncooked rice or a saltine cracker in their salt shakers to absorb extra moisture and help break up salt clumps that may otherwise form. Salt is present in most foods but in naturally occurring foodstuffs such as meats vegetables and fruit it is present in very small quantities. It is often added to processed foods such as canned foods and especially salted foods’ pickled foods’ and snack foods or other convenience foods where it functions as both a preservative and a flavoring. Salt is the most effective readily available and economical highway deicer in use today and accounts for 9% of all salt production. In paper making salt is used to manufacture caustic soda and chlorine. Caustic soda is used to process wood fibers and chlorine is used to bleach the pulp. The water then allows the kidneys to distribute a healthy amount of electrolytes throughout the bloodstream and this action regulates blood pressure. Sodium traps calcium and other nutrients in the bloodstream. Salt intake prevents heat related complications such as stroke and heat prostration. This amounts to about one teaspoon or six grams of salt. Salt is 50% sodium’ multiply sodium grams by 2.6. About 80% of US adults consume a lot more than that 7. Eating too much salt is claimed to raise blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Some table salt also has added iodine an essential nutrient that helps maintain a healthy thyroid. Sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value, despite the fact that sea salt is often promoted as being healthier. Sea salt and table salt contain comparable amounts of sodium by weight. Excess sodium increases blood pressure because it holds excess fluid in the body and that creates an added burden on the heart. Too much sodium will increase your risk of stroke’ heart failure’ osteoporosis’ stomach cancer and kidney disease. Americans will develop high blood pressure in their lifetime.