SALT                                           

Common salt is a naturally occurring mineral, which is mostly made of sodium chloride, NaCl, and a few impurities.Salt is essential for the proper functioning of the human body.Salt in its inorganic form is found primarily in sea water. It is also found in meats, dairy and animal products and not so much in vegetable products.

Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), 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. The sodium is a metal and chloride a halogen 40% sodium and 60% chloride they come together and form an ionic bond when multiple sodium ions and chlorides come together they form a cube when multiple cubes come together they form a crystal as we are accustomed to seeing in nature.

 

How is salt made ?

Salt production is one of the oldest chemical practices performed by man.Salt is produced naturally when sea water evaporates, but the process can easily be reproduced to create a higher yield.

Salt is also mined from the earth. The Khewra Salt mine in Pakistan is the largest in the World.

By Evaporation

Salt accounts for about 3.5% of the world's oceans and is naturally produced when shallow ponds and bays dry up in the sun and wind.Large salt crystals are left behind where the salty water once was. Manufacturing of sea salt can only be performed in areas with low rainfall in order for enough time to pass for evaporation.When producing sea salt on an industrial scale, sea water is placed in large "concentrating ponds" to allow efficient evaporation from the sun and wind.

By Mining

  Salt is present in the rocky under layers of the Earth's surface and can be extracted through mining. 

Rock salt is extracted through dynamite, similar in fashion to the mining of any other mineral.Once it is brought to the Earth's surface, it is crushed and used for industrial and other non-food purposes. This type of salt contains many minerals and other impurities.Hydraulic mining of salt involves pumping water below the Earth's surface to dissolve salt deposits and create a salt brine.This brine is then pumped to the surface and evaporated to create salt.The salty brine may be treated prior to evaporation to reduce mineral content, yielding a nearly pure sodium chloride crystal.This method is inexpensive, has a high yield, and produces a very clean salt. Most table salt is produced with this method.

Types of Salt

Apart from the table salt which we all know, there are numerous distinctive types of salt being produced all around the world.These salts are very different from one and other. Even though these salts are sodium chloride in majority, the tiny amount of impurities from where they are harvested give each of them an unique flavor of their own.The impurities present in these salts also give them heir distinctive hues or colors. In India two types of salts are primarily used, Common salt or sea salt which is predominantly used in the coastal areas and the southern  India.

 

Black Salt or Kala Namak

 

The black salt or kala namak is used majorly in north Indian cuisine.The salt is deep purple or almost black in color, hence the name kala namak and is mined from the Himalayan foothills in India. The salt has the flavor profile of an egg due to the presence of sulfur in the salt. Excessive use of this salt might give the dish a rotten egg smell.

 

Coarse Salt

Coarse salt is made up of large-grained salt crystals. Most coarse salts are best used in a grinder. Coarse salt tends to be less moisture sensitive than its finer-grained counterparts, so it resists caking and is easily stored.

 

Flake Salt

 Flake sea salt is a light crystal reminiscent of snowflakes. Seawater

evaporated using the natural processes of sun and wind, producing salt brine that is fed into an open evaporating pan. The brine is then slowly heated until delicate pyramid-shaped crystals of salt are formed. The finished product is light, flakey sea salt. Flake salts can come in many different sizes, from large pyramid-shaped flakes to paper-thin, delicate flakes.

Flavored Salt

Flavored salts are salts blended with herbs and spices to give an extra flavor. These salts can be used give a crust or for finishing the dishes.  Even wine flavored salts can be made for giving food an extra dimension.

 

 

Fleur de Sel 

While finishing salts are the premier salt varieties, Fleur de Sel is the

crème de la crème of finishing salts. Fleur de Sel literally translates to “Flower of Salt” and is often called the “caviar of salts” by chefs worldwide.True Fleur de Sel comes from the Guérande region of France, and is made up of only “young” crystals that form naturally on the surface of salt evaporation ponds. Paludiers carefully rake the salt crystals using only wooden tools. The weather conditions must be just right to produce a good Fleur de Sel harvest, and the process can only be completed once a year, in the summer.

 

Hawaiian Sea Salt

Alaea sea salt is a traditional Hawaiian table salt used to season and preserve. A natural mineral called “Alae” is added to enrich the salt with iron oxide. This natural additive gives the salt its distinctive red color and a distinctive earthy flavour.

 

Table Salt

Table salt is the most common kind of salt found in the average kitchen. It usually comes from salt mines. Once mined, it is refined and most minerals are removed until it is pure sodium chloride.  Most table salt is also available in either plain or iodized forms, where the salt is artificially spray coated with iodine.  

Himalayan salt

Himalayan salt is a rock salt mined primarily from the Khewra salt mine in the Punjab region of Pakistan. The pink color actually comes from the presence of iron oxide in the salt. The salt is commonly used in cooking as a replacement for table salt. Slabs of Himalayan salt can be used for serving dishes and also as a cooking surface.

 

Uses of Salts

Beside making food delicious, it’s believed there are more than 14,000 uses for salt.The most familiar use of salt undoubtedly is as a vital element to the cooking and preparing of great-tasting food.Other than flavouring food salt has many other gastronomic uses also.

 

Salt as a preservative

Salt curing meat and other foods is the oldest method of food preservation and was heavily used prior to refrigeration. Salt acts as a preservative by drawing out moisture from food, which is essential to microbial growth. Many pathogenic microbes are also simply unable to grow in the presence of salt.

 

Salt as a texture enhancer

Salt plays a large roll in creating texture in food. When making yeast breads, the amount of salt greatly affects the rate of yeast fermentation and gluten formation, both of which will significantly affect the bread's final texture.

 

Salt as a flavour enhancer

Salt acts in multiple ways to enhance the flavor of food. Saltiness is one of the five tastes that a human can recognize. Salt is used to reduce the bitterness in food. In small amounts, salt will intensify sweetness and is therefore often sprinkled on fresh fruit or added to candies like caramel.

Salt as a binding agent

 

Because salt helps form protein gels, it can be used as a binding agent. When salt is added to foods such as sausage or other processed meats, it causes gelatinization of proteins which then hold the product together.

Salt and Human Consumption

Salt, represents an essential element of life, being one of the elements without which the human body cannot function.  Sodium is an essential nutrient, a mineral that the body cannot manufacture itself but which is required to sustain life and good health. Daily sodium requirement of humans is 2300 mg, which is 6g of salt per day.

 

Some facts about salts

 The word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt because the Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, which was quite literally worth its weight in gold.Soy sauce, fish sauce and hoisin sauce are alternatives for salt used in oriental cuisine.The first city in Europe was Solnitsata, Bulgaria, which was famous for its salt mines.Only about 6% of the salt manufactured in the world is used in food.Mahatma Gandhi started the civil disobedience movement in India with salt satyagraha and the Dandi march 

Salt crusted Mackerel

 

Salt            :-    240gms

Flour          :-    30gms

Egg white   :-     4nos

Mackerel    :-     2nos

Method

Mix the flour and salt together

Whip the egg white till its peak stage

Add the salt and flour to the egg white mix it, with cut and fold method

In a baking tray make base of egg white and place mackerel and cover again with egg white mixture

Bake at 80 degree Celsius for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven after the fish is cooked and serve hot.

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