Salt

Without salt, Munich would still be a village

1000 years ago, salt was obtained complexly out of sea water and sold in tiny amounts for high prices. This changed when underground salt deposits were found and exploited in larger scale. In the ancient world families that spiced their food with salt were considered rich. In Germany, extensive salt deposits were found in Thuringia. Due to the long route of transportation, salt was a commodity in great demand for an extended time. History knows old salt roads and salt highways. Even the rise of Munich, Bavaria's capital, was caused by the quest for salt.

In the 12th. Century, Heinrich the Lion and Bishop Otto of Freising fought each other. The salt road in these days led through a Bavarian village called Föhring. To cross the river Isaar, the old merchants had to use a bridge in Föhring. The Bishop of Freising charged the merchants a toll for this and he appreciated the considerable revenue coming from that. Without further ado Heinrich the Lion destroyed the bridge and rerouted the salt road through the nearby village of Munich, where he built his own bridge. Now he charged a toll and founded the development of the minor Munich, which quickly became a pulsating salt market.

Taste buds are given at birth

Even if babies can not tell about it, they can distinguish between „sweet“, „sour“, „bitter“ and „salty“. Salt is vital at any age. Million years ago life formed in the waters of the oceans. And the oceans are salty. Even if we are able to walk upright and to use tools, our dependency on salt is inherited from our ancestors. The amniotic liquor that surrounds an unborn child in the womb has the same salinity and mineral content as salt water in the ocean.

Everybody knows that one should drink 2 to 3 litres of fluid a day. Quite often, to do so one is not thirsty enough. Salt can help here. Cut a tomato into several pieces in the morning and spice them with a pinch of salt. When you eat the tomato pieces allotted over the day, their salt content will make you sufficiently thirsty to reach for mineral water.

Salt is spice for the body

What is in the name „salt“? Tasteless food? Oversalted soup? A bath additive? Or the maintenance of vital body functions? Salt is a vital part of our nutrition. The ingestion of salt is fundamental for the balance of the human organism. Following his instinct of self preservation our body thought of a trick. Even when offered spicy and richly seasoned food, it will alarm the brain stating: still not tasty, something is missing. Only after a small pinch the own sense of taste is satisfied and got what it wanted: salt.

Salt is not salt

In today's kitchen, salt is used as a flavouring component. Even sweet deserts get a stronger taste by adding a pinch of salt.

Basically, salt can be subdivided in three main groups: evaporated salt, rock salt and sea salt. Evaporated salt is produced by boiling away salty water. Rock salt is mined. Sea salt is made by evaporating sea water.

For our table salts one of them is used. Iodised salt is enhanced with iodine. Conventional manufacturers normally add synthetic iodine while organic producers prefer natural iodine suppliers like salt water algae. By mixing salt with herbs fine seasoned salts are generated, which are an integral part of today's cuisine. Organic seasoned salts naturally use herbs coming from controlled organic farming or collection in the wild.

Evaporated salt - the classic salt

During production of evaporated salt, underground salt chambers are flooded with sweet water. The salt gets thereby dissolved and the emerging brine is pumped away for further processing. Evaporating salt requires certain temperatures that have to be precisely maintained for a longer period of time. During this sophisticated process a coarse-grained salt is generated by slow crystallisation in open salt pans.

To do this fast, cheaply and profitably, the brine is often cooked in pressure tanks today. Unfortunately, such cooked salt shows the same negative effects as vegetables cooked too long: all minerals and trace elements are lost. The result on average is pure sodium chlorite. Sodium chlorite again is a commodity for the chemical industry, which is for example used in production of plastics, paints and detergents. In conventional food industry the pure sodium chlorite is used as table salt. For a highest possible whiteness it is treated with chemical bleaches. Synthetic anti-baking agents prevent the salt from baking. To enhance the table salt, additives like iodine and fluorine are applied. The result is a table salt that is cheaply offered in any supermarket.

Refined salt is noticeably different to salt in its natural state. Natural salt is never pure sodium chlorite, as it always contains minerals and trace elements. Pure sodium chlorite can not be found in nature. Therefore, there is no doubt about whether chemical pureness is more contributing to health than a natural content of minerals.

Stone salt - the Methuselah of salts

Basically, stone salt is 250 million years old sea salt. In these days the ocean covered large areas of Europe. As time passed, sea level sank and salt lakes formed which dried out and were covered by sediments. In some areas huge salt deposits built up in this way. In the Middle Ages these salt domes could only be excavated if they were just right below earth surface. Today, also salt domes that expand several hundred meters deep into the ground can easily be exploited. Stone salt is excavated by heavy equipment in underground mining. The salt blocks are brought to the surface, cleaned and mechanically grinded into different grain sizes. Due to the high age of these salt domes and their protected situation deep in the ground, stone salt is generally free of heavy metals, chemicals and were not exposed to radiation. The more natural the stone salt, the higher is its content of valuable minerals and trace elements. For consumers of bright white table salt, the grey colour of unrefined stone salt is something uncommon. But the colour indicates that the salt was not treated chemically and that it contains noticeably more ingredients than the conventionally treated salt.

Himalaya salt is a reddish stone salt. The major part of Himalaya salts originates from the salt range in Pakistan, one of the world's largest salt mines of the world. The reddish colour of this crystal salt is caused by its content of iron. As any stone salt, Himalaya salt is offered as chunks or finely grinded. Peter Ferreiras' book „Water and Salt, Well of Life“ contributed a lot to Himalaya salt's popularity. Peter Ferreiras relates the salt's impact to the fact that the salt's oscillations were identical to the ones of the human organism and that Himalaya salt's 84 elements resembled the natural mixture of human blood.

Sea salt - the mineral supplier of salts

Sea salt is won by filling sea water via small channels into shallow basins. The water evaporates there. A sophisticated arrangement of these salt water basins ensures that slick and sand particles contained in the water gather on the ground before the salt is crystallising. The different qualities of sea salt refer to the purity of the water, the applied method of evaporation, the methods of production and philosophy of refinement. For choosing a salt the following points should therefore be considered: at which coast was the water taken? What is the level of environmental pollution there? Was the evaporation done naturally by wind and sun? Is the salt produced manually or is technology used? Are any artificial substances added?

High quality salts are produced in sea water salines. The sea water is evaporated by the natural forces of wind and sun. While Flor de Sal builds a thin layer at the surface of the basin water, the salt crystals are too heavy to float. They submerge to the ground and continue to grow there until harvested. Only a slow evaporation process generates large crystals. Coarse sea salt is marketed ungrounded and unrefined. Finely grounded sea salt is formerly coarse salt, which has been fine grounded after drying. The finely grounded sea salt is marketed in different ways: pure, refined with herbs, enriched with minerals or, in the worst case, mixed with artificial substances. Sea salt contains slightly more minerals than the purer stone salt. Its content of sodium chloride averages around 96% (purified stone salt approximately 96%, table salt nearly 100%). The rest is water, minerals and other salts. Due to its composition, the colour of sea salt is not pure white but tends towards a greyish or reddish shade.

Seasoned salts - individual tastes

In former days, herbs were salted to make them less perishable in Winter. Today, seasoned salt is a typical organic food product. Organic food producers use sea or stone salt and mix it with 15 to 20 % of dried herbs or vegetables. Preferred herbs are basil, paprika, garlic, parsley and chive. Both herbs and vegetables originate from controlled organic farming. They are gently dried and finely grounded with the salt. Seasoned salt is available in different tastes. It can be precisely tuned for a certain usage and its reduced salt content reduces the consumed amount of salt.

Flor de Sal - the Queen of salts

The best salt that can be applied in cooking is the salt flower, known as Fleur de Sel or Flor de Sal. The production process of this premium salt is very demanding. After the sea water had been directed into the basin it slowly evaporates by the exposition to sun and wind. Under advantageous climatic conditions a very fine and thin layer of salt crystals will form on the surface. The fine structure, comparable to flowers, gave name to this noble salt: salt flower. The salt crust is carefully harvested by hand, then flattened out on storage areas in layers where the sun dries it. The production of Flor de Sal requires patience, skills and first of all experience. In the producing countries, the production method is considered to be a valued traditional artwork.

Flor de Sal is the purest of all salts. Its very fine and aromatic taste is unique and can not be compared to any other salt. The rare salt is only used for seasoning after cooking. The crystals taste creamily smooth. Flor de Sal is absolutely non-refined. Therefore, Flor de Sal keeps its natural balance of minerals and trace elements. As it is hygroscopic, it will always be slightly moist. Flor de Sal from different regions can often be distinguished by different tastes. Improved with tasty herbs or precious spices, Flor the Sal is synonym to culinary pleasure in its real sense of meaning.