Nourishments—

Salt: Flavoring Food And History

By Nancy K. Crevier

The history, uses and histrionics over salt go back so many centuries and cover so many fields that it could — and does — fill a book. Mark Kurlansky’s Salt: A World History, one of several books on the market that strives to unmask the many faces of this vital mineral, reveals the myths and truths of sodium chloride.

Salt makes food taste better, a reason that most Americans consume twice the 1,500 to 2,300 mg of sodium per day recommended in 2005 Dietary Guidelines for adults. Just one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,325 mg of sodium, and processed and prepared foods are notorious for containing high amounts of sodium.

But we need salt in our diet. Sodium helps maintain the balance of body fluids, helps transmits nerve impulses, and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles. Therein lies the contradiction. Is salt good, or is salt bad?

I have, in my kitchen, an 8 by 8 by 2-inch slab of Himalayan Pink Salt, a gift from Santa Claus last Christmas (who must love hauling brick-like objects around the world, along with that sleigh full of toys…). The salt brick is a lovely thing of a deep translucent pink shot through with white, and very much like a huge piece of quartz. Fortunately for me, it came with directions that even included what my first instinct was: to simply admire its beauty.

The salt slab, however, is utilitarian. Most obvious is its role as a serving platter, imparting just a smidgeon of saltiness to each piece of fruit, cheese, fish, or meat that comes in contact with it. We have also chilled it in the freezer and used it to serve scoops of ice cream and sorbet, again, resulting in an unusual sweet and salty contrast. Following directions for actually creating custard directly on the salt block, we discovered that while it is necessary to “luff” the wet ingredients, too much movement upon the block results in a custard that is inedibly salty. There can be, it seems, too much of a good thing.

The Himalayan Pink Salt block can also be thrust beneath the broiler for a few minutes, removed, and set upon a trivet for tabletop cooking of thinly sliced meats, fish, and vegetables. What the instructions do not convey is that the trivet must be metal…. wooden ones will scorch. It is an intriguing way to serve a meal and to salt food without carrying the saltshaker to the table.

I must also confess that I own dozens and dozens of salt and peppershakers. They are artful creations, they are antiques, and they are whimsically crafted objects that simply appeal to me. They are a personable way to portage table salt (and pepper) across the wide expanse from kitchen to table. Because salt, judiciously applied, is crucial to cooking and eating.

What is this fascination with salt? It is not just me, I swear. According to SaltInstitute.org, the world uses over 200 million tons of salt every year. It is an essential element in the diet, and has been used for thousands of years in hundreds of cultures to improve the palatability of foods, for medicine, and for household uses.

The history of salt can be traced back to the Chinese dynasties. Peng-Tzao-Kan-Mu wrote a treatise on pharmacology more than 4,700 years ago, much of that treatise devoted to 40 varieties of salt and their medical uses. In his book, Mr Kurlansky notes that the “earliest written record of salt production in China dates to 800 BC,” a work that describes the sea salt production and trade that would, 1,000 years later, make its way to Europe.

So valued was salt in the ancient world, as a medicine and as a preservative, that wars were fought and slaves were traded for the commodity, resulting in the expression, “Not worth his salt.”

All over the world, salting and brining foods were processes used as preservative techniques in the pre-refrigeration era. Today, what recipe doesn’t improve from just a dash or a pinch of salt? And adding salt to taste, in homemade recipes, is a much better way to control the amount of sodium consumed. Because, guess what? Too much of a good thing…

The addition of salt to a pot of water can make it boil faster, and eggs boiled in salted water are easier to peel. Using salted water when poaching eggs helps to set the egg whites.

For apples, pears and potatoes that must be peeled in quantity and used later, placing the slices in cold, lightly salted water will prevent discoloration.

Salt in baking gives structure to the finished product, and a final sprinkle of salt on steamed fish and vegetables brings out the flavor.

But there is so much more to salt than cooking, as our ancestors realized. Combined with turpentine, a salt scrub will restore the white to enameled cookware; just be sure to wear gloves, and wash the pot well with soap and water afterward. Mix salt with vinegar, and you have a gentle brass and copper cleaner. Salt plus salad oil rubbed into water spots on wooden furniture (because who can find the coasters when you need them?) removes the white ring. Salt and baking soda not only help muffins rise, but will clean and deodorize the interior walls of the refrigerator. A strong salt brine will clear a kitchen sink drain. Smother a grease fire with a big dose of table salt.

Salt in water makes an ocean-like mouthwash or gargle, and massaged into skin, is professed by many to have antiseptic properties.

Like so much else, in moderation, it is a beautiful thing. Cleansing, preserving, flavoring, healing — salt is all around us, and in us. We are, after all, “The salt of the earth.”