Salt: rules for selection and use. Black salt - white death

On the Crimean edible salt is indicated: "SALT SALT". We are asked what does this mean? We publish a detailed article from "AiF":

Extra, iodized, dietary, marine, pink, black - and this is not all the salt that can be seen on sale. And each...

Salt is a paradoxical product. On the one hand, its mining has always been super profitable, and white crystals were often used as money and were equal in value to gold. On the other hand, the reserves of salt on Earth (unlike gas and oil) are inexhaustible and it literally lies under our feet. The attitude of people to the snow-white product is also ambiguous. We can live without it, moreover, nutritionists call it "white death" - if the industry halved the amount of salt in products, it would save 150,000 lives a year. But we are downright drawn to the salty. In general, no matter what doctors tell us about the dangers of salt, only a few are able to completely refuse it. The rest need to slightly limit its consumption and choose for themselves the most useful variety of the product.

Biography of salt

The bulk of the salt that is on our shelves is of domestic origin, because its reserves in Russia are among the largest in the world. Almost the entire Russian product is called "Edible Salt", and it is made in accordance with GOST R 51574-2000. When buying white powder for your dishes, be sure to find the GOST indication on the package - it guarantees the quality of the goods - and read how it was obtained: the amount of harmful sodium chloride and the presence of useful minerals depend on this. According to the type of production, salt in Russia and the CIS countries is divided into four types.

Stone mined by mine and quarry methods. It is very pure in nature, the content of sodium chloride in it is quite high (98-99%), and there is little moisture.

evaporation they do this - first, a brine is extracted from the ground, then water is evaporated from it and salt is obtained. The content of sodium chloride in it is 98-99.8%.

garden salt It is formed during the evaporation of sea or salt lake water in special pools. The content of sodium chloride in it is less than in other types - 94-98%. In addition, there are many more other ions in garden salt, so it can differ in taste.

self-landing mined from the bottom of salt lakes - it settles naturally. The largest deposit of such salt in our country is Lake Baskunchak.

Netting and self-planting salts have less sodium chloride and are therefore considered healthier.

The second grade is not a marriage

When buying salt, you should pay attention not only to the method of production of the product, but also to its grade - extra, highest, first or second. This is a technical characteristic of the product, which shows how strongly it is cleaned and crushed. Just do not think that extra is good salt, and the rest is bad. From a health point of view, the lower the grade and the closer the composition of the salt to natural, the better. For example, in the extra, the amount of harmful sodium chloride is maximum (99.7%), and useful salts of potassium, magnesium and calcium are minimal (0.01-0.02%). This is the result of processing. But in a poorly purified salt of the second grade, NaCl is already 97%, and good ions are 0.25%. Therefore, try to use the extra infrequently, for example, in salads. For hot dishes, it is better to take healthy coarse and unprocessed grayish salt. And especially it is indispensable for canning. By the way, you can find out how coarse the salt is in the package without even opening it. Extra is always very small. For the rest, the grinding number is indicated specifically. The smallest of them No. 0 is used for salt of the highest and first grades - the main part of its crystals is not more than 0.8 mm. Larger grinds are designated by numbers 1, 2 and 3, and they are in salt of the highest, first or second grade. The largest crystals can reach 4 mm.

You can always grind salt while cooking with a special grinder - that's what chefs do.

rich in iodine

In addition to ordinary salt, you can see iodized salt on the shelves. Doctors recommend adding it to all meals to prevent thyroid diseases, because most Russians do not have enough iodine. For enrichment with this useful element, extra, premium and first grade salt is used, but always finely ground. If you are a supporter of an iodized product, look at exactly what substance it is enriched with - iodide or potassium iodate. The World Health Organization recommends adding a second one - in this form, iodine is more stable. By the way, there should always be an inscription on the package: "The useful life of iodine is 2 years." But this does not mean that after this time the salt must be thrown away - it simply turns into ordinary salt.

Iodized salt can be used in any dish, except for pickles and marinades: cucumbers become soft.

dietary product

To reduce the harm that salt causes to the human body, doctors have invented a dietary product. Since we get 1.5-2.5 times more sodium than we need, and we often lack other elements, part of the NaCl is replaced by potassium and magnesium in the new salt. For example, in the domestic product of sodium chloride, only 68%, potassium chloride - as much as 27%, and magnesium sulfate - 5%. In Australia, studies have recently ended on the effect of dietary salt on hypertensive patients - in people who took it instead of usual, their upper pressure decreased by 5.4 mm Hg. Art.

Dietary salt is undeniably healthier than regular salt, but many consumers dislike its taste and degree of salinity.

sea ​​beauty

Sea salt is becoming more and more popular. From the point of view of the production method, it is a garden product - it is formed after the evaporation of sea water under the action of the sun and wind. As a result, salt is more useful - there is relatively little sodium chloride in it (94%), but there are natural impurities of iodine, potassium, magnesium, calcium and sulfates. Sea seasoning can be not only in the form of ordinary crystals, but also in the form of transparent plates - the French call them Fleur de sel ("salt flowers"). However, they make a similar product not only in France, but also in Spain and Portugal. It is mined manually - thin crystallized plates are “torn off” from the very surface of sea water. Since these are hand made products, they are expensive - from 200 to 2000 rubles. for 200-500 g. By the way, pink Himalayan salt is also sold at about the same price - it is a white-gray product with a pink tint. It is mined in the mountains of the Himalayas.

black delicacy

Now very expensive black salt is becoming popular in the world. It is mined using the practically old Papuan method, described by Miklukho-Maclay - earlier, the natives collected sticks soaked in water in the sea and burned them. Salted ash was black salt. Paradoxically, but it is much more useful than white - it is rich in iodine, potassium, sulfur, iron and other trace elements.

Black salt has a slightly eggy flavor that not everyone likes.

Expert opinion

Ludmila Shatnyuk, professor, Head of the Laboratory for the Technology of New Specialized Preventive Products at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences

Many people think that cooking with iodized salt is useless, supposedly the necessary element is lost during heat treatment. This is not entirely true. We carried out special tests - baked bread with enriched salt. The results were very good - 75% of iodine remained in the finished product. In soups, stews and fried dishes, the useful element is preserved even more, because their cooking temperature is much lower and they are usually salted at the very end.

What to look for on a package

The product's name- Edible salt.
Mode of production- boiling, stone, cage or self-planting.
Salt grade- extra, higher, first or second. Grinding number or size of salt crystals.
Enrichment information. In iodized salt, they indicate which substance was used - potassium iodate or potassium iodide, and also give the concentration of iodine in the salt and how long it will remain in it. In a dietary diet with a low sodium content, they provide information about the potassium and magnesium compounds that are added to it.
Additive Availability Information- anti-caking, stabilizing, etc.
Consumption recommendations(usually no more than 5-6 g per day).

How to salt

Meat fish. If they are salted at the very beginning of cooking, they will turn out to be dryish - the salt will draw all the food juices out of the fibers. Therefore, put the crystals at the very end of frying or after a protective crust appears on meat or fish.

Vegetables and vegetarian soups. Salt 5 minutes before the end of cooking.

Beans, peas, soy. In salt water, they are poorly boiled soft, so their salts are almost ready - a few minutes before removing from heat.

Fried potatoes and french fries. Salt only after frying, otherwise the potatoes will not be crispy.

Soup. It is better to salt the meat broth 15-20 minutes before removing from heat.

Ear. Add salt immediately after removing the foam.

Salt is perhaps the most ancient and most "scandalous" seasoning. At one time, it was worth its weight in gold. Salt has firmly taken its place in fairy tales, sayings and superstitions. Only one sign "Scatter salt - to a quarrel" is worth something. A whole ritual has been invented to neutralize the harmful effects! And how many copies are broken in the battle of opinions about the benefits and harms of salt, do not count! Some say that all living beings need salt and cite the example of elks, deer and cows that lick salt with great pleasure. Others call for moderation and even complete rejection of salt, citing numerous studies that have proven a direct relationship between increased blood pressure and the appearance of edema and other troubles on the amount of salt consumed. Let's try to understand this difficult question.

The whole truth about salt, to begin with, let's answer the most common question - does our body need salt? There is only one answer, and it is non-negotiable. Yes, it's needed. Moreover, it is vital! Let's make a small digression into biochemistry. Salt is mainly formed by two elements - sodium and chlorine. Each of these elements performs its work in our body. Sodium is involved in maintaining water and acid-base balance, in the transmission of nerve impulses and in muscle contractions. Chlorine, among other things, is necessary for the production of gastric juice. Chloride, which is part of the salt, promotes the production of amylase enzymes necessary for the absorption of carbohydrate-containing foods. By the way, salt is practically the only and indispensable source of chlorine, since its content is extremely low in other foods. Salt is a natural enzyme stimulant. If salt is completely excluded from the diet, then the work of the digestive system will deteriorate, convulsions, weakness, loss of taste, fatigue, shortness of breath and interruptions in the work of the heart may occur.

But why, in this case, the consumption of foods high in salt can increase the risk of developing diseases of the heart, liver and kidneys, and a diet low in salt, on the contrary, is an effective means of preventing the occurrence of edema, decreased vision and proteinuria (increasing the amount of protein in urine)? Why do highly reputable experts scare us with osteoporosis and potassium deficiency in the body, while their equally reputable opponents prove that a salt-free diet helps get rid of acne and is effective for oily skin? What is most interesting, all these statements are true! How can this be? It's simple: in the heat of heated debate about the dangers and benefits of salt, many lose sight of one important circumstance - refining. Yes, refined foods will kill us!

Salt also did not escape refining. Fine salt of the class "Extra" is a product of thermal and chemical processing. Such salt not only loses its original structure and all useful properties, but also has carcinogenic properties and causes an increase in blood pressure. Before getting to our table, the salt is dried in huge ovens at temperatures above 650°C! At such a crazy temperature, salt molecules simply burst and change their structure. Then chemical moisture evaporators are added to the salt so that the salt is dry and does not stick together into an unappetizing lump. Instead of natural iodine salts, which are removed during processing, potassium iodide is added to the salt, which can be toxic if overeaten. So that volatile iodine compounds do not fly away ahead of time, dextrose is added to the salt, which gives the iodized salt a pinkish tint. To restore whiteness, chemical bleach is used ...

Just a big wash of some kind, by golly. As a result, salt becomes alien to our body. It is this salt that causes serious imbalances in our health. A paradoxical situation arises: people who eat a lot of refined salt have a thirst for salt. After all, refined salt does not satisfy the body's needs for microelements, and we instinctively reach for salt, desperately trying to find what we need ... But sodium chloride in the form it turns into after purification and clarification is a poison for any living organism. Sea fish placed in a solution of ordinary table salt will not last long.

Our body needs real, untouched by civilization, salt. Sea salt is the best for our body and does not cause such horrendous effects (when consumed in moderation, of course!). Just don’t say that you have a pack of “real sea” salt in your kitchen, bought in the healthy food section of a supermarket - alas, this salt is produced by the same barbaric (more precisely, civilized) methods, but it costs many times more than usual . Such is the double deception.

This is real sea salt. It is this salt, dried naturally in the sun, that contains elements of marine flora and fauna, from which our body receives organic forms of iodine. Iodine in these forms remains in body fluids for several weeks. According to the theory of acid-base balance, almost all chronic diseases are the result of acidification of the blood, lymph and all tissues of our body. And real sea salt is one of the alkaline elements that our body needs. In addition, natural sea salt is only 85-95% sodium chloride, the rest is all kinds of compounds that make our liquids (plasma, blood, sweat, tears) related to sea water. Sea salt contains almost the entire periodic table, except for gases, and these are 84 elements, and about 200 chemical compounds! The composition of a sea salt crystal is so complex that man has not yet been able to create it artificially. Yes, nature is still a better chemist than man.

Our country has huge reserves of salt. According to the type of production, domestic salt is divided into 4 types:

. Stone - mined by mine and quarry methods. This is pure, dry salt, it contains a fairly high percentage of sodium chloride - 98-99%.

. Cooking room - the brine extracted from the ground is evaporated and salt is obtained. The content of sodium chloride in it is also high - 98-99.8%.

. Sadochnaya - is formed during the evaporation of sea or salty lake water in special pools. Differs in the lower content of sodium chloride - 94-98%. In addition, such salt has many more other ions, so it may taste different.

. self-landing - mined from the bottom of salt lakes. This salt settles to the bottom naturally. Lake Baskunchak is the largest deposit of such salt in our country.

In garden and self-planting salt, sodium chloride is the least, so it is this salt that is considered the most beneficial to health.

Any salt is a former seabed. From sea salt, literally saturated with iodine, Russian salt is distinguished by its complete absence. Therefore, you should pay attention to the exotic pink Himalayan, red Hawaiian, black Papuan, healing French or Epsom salt (not to be confused with a laxative!).

Some experts consider French sea salt to be the best. For example, CelticSeaSalt is a slightly moist grayish salt, which has one of the highest concentrations of nutrients in the world. Another fork of French salt - Fleur de sel - is harvested by hand from the surface of the water. It looks like flower petals (which is reflected in the name). Gray Sel Gris contains valuable antioxidants, the special taste of this salt is given by the oceanic microalga Dinaliella salina contained in it. Salt is mixed with algae, herbs, pieces of dried vegetables. It turns out fragrant and useful seasoning. The French even smoke their sea salt on chips from old oak chardonnay barrels, resulting in a cold-smoked delicacy with a wine flavor.

Pink Himalayan salt (halite) is a pure crystalline salt that formed over 250 million years ago. This salt contains copper, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron and many other minerals. Iron is what gives Himalayan salt its pink tint. On plates of pink Himalayan salt, you can cook like in a pan. Just put a piece of meat or fish on a heated plate of salt and fry as usual. Salt is not necessary!

To red Hawaiian salt owes its color to finely crushed clay, which is mixed with ordinary sea salt. This salt is not as salty and takes longer to dissolve. Hawaiian salt is mined by hand by evaporation from salt lagoons. A variety of Hawaiian salt - black - is especially rich in minerals due to the admixture of the smallest particles of volcanic ash.

Indian black salt is not black at all, but rather pink. It is high in sulfur and other minerals, and smells and tastes like a heavily spiced egg. It is because of the smell that Indian salt is far from suitable for all dishes, but according to naturopaths, it is easily excreted from the body and is not deposited in the joints.

The Papuans extracted salt in a rather original way: they collected wooden sticks soaked in sea water in the sea and burned them at the stake. Salt was obtained with a high content of activated carbon, which made such salt an excellent absorbent, as well as potassium, sulfur, iron and other trace elements. She has a slightly eggy taste, which not everyone likes.

And in Russia, since ancient times, Thursday salt has been prepared - also black. The process of preparing such salt was rather laborious: ordinary salt was mixed with kvass, green cabbage leaves, rye flour and wild herbs and burned in an oven. Our ancestors were much wiser than us - not knowing anything about chemistry and biology, they purified salt from all harmful organic compounds, heavy metals and excess chlorine. Black salt is enriched with calcium and finely porous coal, this salt retains water less than usual in the tissues of the body and removes toxins.

During the preparation of different dishes, salt is used in different ways. For example, here are some rules:

. Salt the meat broth before the end of cooking, otherwise the meat in it will be tough.
. Salt vegetable and fish broths immediately after boiling.
. Salads should be salted before dressing them with oil - salt does not dissolve well in oil.
. Salt the water for cooking pasta before putting it in boiling water, otherwise the pasta will stick together, even if you rinse it well with hot water after cooking.
. Salt potatoes immediately after boiling water.
. Salt fried potatoes before the end of frying. If you salt it before, then the slices will be fried and soft.
. When cooking, it is better not to salt the beets at all, it is already tasty.
. During frying, salt the meat at the moment when a crispy crust forms on it, otherwise it will lose juice and be tough.
. Salt the fish 10-15 minutes before frying and wait until the salt is well absorbed, then the fish will not fall apart during the frying process.
. Salt dumplings, dumplings and dumplings at the beginning of cooking.
. If you accidentally oversalted the soup, before the end of cooking, dip a gauze bag with rice into it for 5 minutes - the rice will “take away” the excess salt.

About iodized salt is worth mentioning separately. The fact that you can’t pickle cucumbers with it has long been known - cucumbers become soft, lethargic. It is also believed that iodized salt should be added to ready meals and salads, since iodine evaporates under the influence of high temperature. This is true, but if you decide to bake homemade bread with iodized salt, then most of the iodine will remain in the finished product.

What should you do if your doctor has prescribed a salt-free diet? It is easiest for raw foodists - their body can extract the necessary microelements from plant products, and they get iodine from raw seaweed. If you are not a supporter of raw food, then first of all completely refuse the use of refined salt. This means that cheese, sausage, mayonnaise, ketchup, any fast food should simply disappear from your diet. Try not to buy bread in the store, bake your own, homemade, mixed with bran on natural mineral water. Onion juice, cumin and other spices can be added to the dough. It is impossible to eat pasta without salt - so do not eat it! And it's better for the body. And steamed fish and jacket potatoes do not require salt at all. Eat more lemon and apple juice, herbs, onions, garlic, fresh vegetables, fresh and dried seaweed - all these are sources of natural salt. Pound 1 part of salt with 12 parts of crushed sesame or flaxseed - you get gimmassio, a healthy and tasty seasoning. At first it will be very difficult, but over time you will get used to the taste of natural food and become a connoisseur of it. In any case, remember the measure. A healthy person should consume no more than 4 g of salt per day (this takes into account hidden salt in prepared foods and semi-finished products). And one more thing: the lethal dose of salt for any of us is only 30 grams. Like this.

Larisa Shuftaykina

Atlantika salt- I read this whole title only when I decided to write a review .... gardening .... what is it .. ????

The largest salt reserves in Russia)))) How many salt lakes we have in our country - Sol-Iletsk, Baskunchak - these are only the most famous and popular. Once I had a chance to visit Lake Baskunchak and see with my own eyes how salt is mined, how vacationers who came from all over our country walk along a white stone field of salt to a salt lake, how trees crystallized in the backwaters and that feeling when you swim in the lake and you don't drown, but that's a completely different story.

So:

As it turned out in Google, the ways of extracting salt in Russia are divided into four types: stone, evaporation, cage and self-planting.

Stone mined by mine and quarry methods. It is very pure in nature, the content of sodium chloride in it is quite high (98-99%), and there is little moisture.

evaporation they do this - first, a brine is extracted from the ground, then water is evaporated from it and salt is obtained. The content of sodium chloride in it is 98-99.8%.

Sadochnaya salt is formed by the evaporation of sea or salty lake water in special pools. The content of sodium chloride in it is less than in other types - 94-98%. In addition, there are many more other ions in garden salt, so it can differ in taste.

self-landing mined from the bottom of salt lakes - it settles naturally. The largest deposit of such salt in our country is Lake Baskunchak.

Netting and self-planting salts have less sodium chloride and are therefore considered healthier.

Sea garden salt - formed after the evaporation of sea water under the action of the sun and wind. As a result, salt is more useful - there is relatively little sodium chloride in it (94%), but there are natural impurities of iodine, potassium, magnesium, calcium and sulfates.

This bank costs about 70 rubles. Manufacturer Cyprus.

I think it's enough for a long time.

They say salt is white death and statistics confirm this. But personally, I don’t personally know the people who refused it, including me, because we all love salty)))

I think that this jar is not the last in my kitchen)))

Salt varies in taste, size, shape, color and degree of salinity. It all really depends on its origin. It is impossible to cover all the many types of salt, but Anna Maslovskaya, editor of the Food section of The Village, decided to look into the issue and classify the main ones.

Origin

Sea salt is extracted from brine concentrated by the sun, which is formed at the site of areas flooded with salt water. It is scraped off, dried, sometimes recrystallized. Another way to obtain sea salt is freezing. Not evaporating water, but freezing sea water.

Garden salt is extracted in a similar way to sea salt: by evaporating water from underground salt springs or by evaporating water from salt marshes. In these places, salt water stagnates on the surface of the earth, but it does not come from the sea, but from other sources.

Stone, it is also mineral, salt is mined in mines. It is formed due to the flow of saline springs or, for example, in the place of dried seas. Until recently, along with boiled sea salt, mineral was the most popular in the world.

Salt, depending on the method of its extraction, is then either ground or sieved. Thus, they divide it by caliber: from small to large.

Fine table salt

It's edible salt. As a rule, it has a stone or garden origin. The second option is considered the cleanest. It is obtained by repeated recrystallization of brine and, apart from salt, contains little in itself - white table salt has a purity of at least 97%. While stone can contain a significant amount of impurities that affect the taste. When sieving it, you can find microscopic pieces of clay and stones. In Russia, the largest places for the production of table salt are Lake Baskunchak in the Astrakhan Region and Lake Elton in the Volgograd Region.

Table salt has the most pure salty taste, this is both its advantage and disadvantage. The main plus is that it allows you to accurately dose the amount during cooking. Minus - its taste is flat and one-dimensional. Table salt is one of the cheapest types of salt along with mineral salt.

Kosher salt

A special case of ordinary table salt. It differs in that the size of its granules is larger than that of ordinary salt, and the shape of the crystals is different. Not cubes, but granules, flat or pyramidal in shape, obtained through a special evaporation process. The shape of the salt makes it easier to feel the amount of salt with your fingers, which is why in America, where this salt is produced in large quantities, it has become an industry standard in professional kitchens. It almost does not differ in taste from ordinary table salt, but there is a nuance: it is never iodized.

Salt is called kosher because it is used for koshering meat, that is, rubbing the carcass to remove any remaining blood.

Rock salt

Iranian blue salt

Cooking edible rock salt grinding No. 1

This is a large family, most often under the name of which is meant white table salt, mined by the mine. For example, salt mined in the Artyomovskoye deposit in Ukraine, the supply of which to Russia is now limited due to sanctions. As a rule, it is white, but sometimes it has a slightly gray or yellowish tint. Salts with brighter impurities often take on their own names. For example, black Himalayan salt, which will be discussed below. Rock salt is also used for technical purposes, such as salting a swimming pool or sprinkling a road.

Sea salt

Sea iodized salt from the Adriatic Sea

Hawaiian Sea Salt Black Lava

There are many types of it due to its origin. Since all seas are different in chemical profile, this is reflected in the taste and composition of the salt. Sometimes this salt is recrystallized to give pure table salt. Its value is in the variety of tastes and the presence of additional impurities that enrich the taste.

Fleur de sel

Fleur de sel from Lake Reu

Swedish salt flakes

Salt flakes are highly valued by chefs and consumers alike. Depending on the origin, it differs in shape, appearance, humidity and degree of salinity. Its traditional name is fleur de sel. As a rule, this is sea salt, the crystals of which grow on the edges of salt baths, in the process of slow evaporation of water, they grow into beautiful growths, which, as a rule, are harvested by hand at a certain stage of growth. That is, from the same source, you can get both coarse-grained salt and salt flakes.

Salt is mined in the form of flakes in different places in the world, but there are three most famous deposits: salt from the French island of Ryo, Moldonian salt from the south-east of England and salt mined in a large deposit in Portugal.

Maldon is a very famous fleur de sel salt mined in the Maldon area of ​​Essex in southeast England since the late 19th century. It is correct to say "Maldon", although "Maldon" has managed to take root in Russia. Moldonian salt is a separate type of salt, which differs from fleur de sel in that its crystals are larger, up to a centimeter. It is also somewhat saltier than the classic fleur de sel. Being sea salt and shaped like flat crystals, it is gentle, creates a pleasant sensation, exploding on the tongue with salty sparks. This makes Moldona salt a versatile finishing agent.

Black Himalayan salt

Pink Himalayan salt

Mineral salt of coarse grinding, the color of which is due to the presence of impurities of potassium chloride and iron oxide. In total, salt contains about 5% of various impurities. It is used in hand mills for finishing dishes, that is, not only for salting dishes, but also for decoration.

Pink Himalayan salt is mined in large blocks, which are then sawn out, in the Punjab region, mainly in the troughs of the Himalayas, in Pakistan and in India. Salt blocks are used even for interior work.

Pink Hawaiian Salt

Sedimentary sea salt that was first harvested in Hawaii. Now its main production takes place in California. The medium-sized bright pink-brown color of the salt crystals comes from inclusions of clay. An expensive product with a slightly glandular taste. According to some reports, it is considered especially useful. But what you definitely can’t argue with is the fact that she is beautiful, which is why serving dishes is perfect.

Interesting fact

In foreign literature, the term "pink salt" refers to a special product based on salt with the addition of sodium nitrite, used for the production of meat products.

flavored salts

Black Thursday Salt

There are many types of aromatic salts, and they are all invented and made by man. Such salt can be of any origin, the main thing in it is a combination of two functions: salting a dish with its flavoring. To do this, additives are placed in the salt or the necessary manipulations are performed on the salt itself, for example, smoking. Additives can be anything: flowers, spices, herbs, berries and even wine.

Thursday salt stands apart on this list, because it is the result of rather complex manipulations. Originally a ritual salt (like pink Hawaiian salt), it is now more commonly used due to its unusual taste. This salt is prepared as follows: table salt is mixed in equal proportions with leavened thick or rye bread soaked in water; put in the oven (sometimes burying in ashes), oven or overheated in a frying pan. After a monolithic piece is split and pounded in a mortar.

Interesting fact

Charcoal salt is used in many culinary traditions, such as in Japan and Korea. Just like Thursday, it is made by human hands. A similar example from Korea is bamboo salt: mOrskaya salt is literally baked in bamboo.

In nature, table salt is a mineral, which, in addition to NaCl known to us, includes up to 8% of impurities. Depending on the deposit, it may contain magnesium, potassium, calcium, as well as trace elements - manganese, iron, nickel, copper, fluorine, rubidium, and many more from the periodic table.

Comparing the quantitative ratio of sodium chloride with impurities, they talk about the benefits of one or another type of salt.

According to the method of extraction, salt is distinguished by type:

Stone- mined by mine or quarry methods, with the help of combines.

Salt tunnels have a high vault and bizarre drawings left after the work of harvesters.

This salt contains almost no impurities, the content of sodium chloride (NaCl) in it is quite high (98-99%), there is practically no moisture.

Cooking room- it is extracted from the depths by washing out in the form of brine. Then water is evaporated from it in open frying pans or vacuum apparatuses. Here, small crystals of salt with the highest degree of purification "Extra" are obtained. The content of sodium chloride in it is also high - 98-99.8%.

Sadochnaya- this salt is evaporated in a natural way, under the rays of the sun, in special pools from sea or salt lake water. The content of sodium chloride in it is less than in other types - 94-98%. Moreover, it contains more trace elements, and especially iodine, which is why it is preferable for use in food and has a distinctive taste. Now sea salt is especially popular.

self-landing- speaks for itself. It settles naturally on the bottom of salt lakes and is collected by a salt pump. It has the same content of NaCl as in the cage, and it also has the advantage of being consumed.

The quality of salt for our body is contradictory - the worse, the better. In other words, the less refined and processed salt, the closer it is to natural. And the less sodium chloride it contains and the more impurities, the less harmful it is to us. So fine salt "Extra" contains the maximum amount of NaCl - 99.7%, and salt of the 2nd grade 97%. The coarser the grinding, the less processing the salt was subjected to.

The higher the number on the package, the larger the crystals. Sometimes they reach 5 mm. Coarse salt, if necessary, can always be ground at home, as chefs do.

Currently very common iodized salt. This is artificially enriched with iodine ordinary salt. For this, two inorganic compounds are mainly used: potassium iodide and potassium iodate. The latter is more resistant to volatility. Therefore, such salt has a longer shelf life, in which iodine is in a bound state with NaCl. After that, only sodium chloride, salt remains in the pack. There is a dangerous nuance here, which the PR specialists of iodized salt are silent about. Potassium iodate (E-917) is toxic. Although it is added in small doses, for some reason the norm adopted at the international medical symposium (25 mg per 1 kg of salt) and in the CIS countries (40-55 mg per 1 kg) differs by almost 1.5 times.

Iodized salt should be treated with great care. It should be used only on the recommendation of a doctor and in a strict dosage. If you use this salt as an alternative to the usual one, you get an overdose of iodine. For example, for a preschool child, the daily norm is 50-70 micrograms of iodine. 1 gram of iodized salt contains 65 micrograms of iodine. According to average estimates, a child receives about 5 grams of salt per day. Therefore, he will receive 325 mcg of iodine, i.e. the excess will be almost 6 - 7 times. This leads to malfunction of the thyroid gland. Moreover, it has been proven that excessive saturation of the body with iodine leads to an undermining of the entire immune system, in which one disease provokes the occurrence of another. As a result, such iodine prophylaxis contributes to the emergence of a chain reaction of diseases. Therefore, it is wiser to still pay attention to products containing easily digestible natural iodine, for example, 50-70 mg of seaweed per day or sea fish - 1-2 times a week.

But among artificial salt inventions there is a promising product. So-called dietary salt, in which Na (sodium) to K (potassium) and Mg (magnesium). The composition of such a salt is approximately as follows: sodium chloride - 68%, potassium chloride - 27% and magnesium sulfate - 5%. The taste of such salt is somewhat specific and many do not like it. For people who have a vital need to use as little salt as possible, such a product, due to the taste specificity, will make them use even less salt.

In cooking, a wide range of salt is used, both in taste and color. In most dishes, this salt acts more as a delicacy than just seasoning. She literally decorates dishes. The cost of such exotic species is considerable. You can mostly get salted with such salt in restaurants, but it’s also not a problem to buy it in metropolitan supermarkets or online stores.

Here is a small list of some types of salt.

Our oldest Slavic black salt "Thursday". It was obtained by roasting from a mixture of ordinary white salt with leavened thick, rye flour, cabbage, and various herbs. This mixture was kept in the oven until coals formed, then crushed and sieved. The process was quite specific, they did it on the Thursday before Easter and stored the resulting salt all year. After roasting, the salt is enriched with iodine, potassium, calcium and zinc. She was credited with magical power and used to treat diseases, from the "evil eye" and "damage". Currently it is produced in Russia. The price is about $1.5 per 100g.

In Australia, according to the type of "Thursday" salt, they receive "Papuan" from sticks and snags thrown on the seashore.

The French, like true gourmets, invented probably the largest variety of salt. One of the most valuable and respected Flur de sel "Flower of the sea".

For its production, in the summer, the surface layer is removed from the surface of the salt lake, like cream from milk. In special tanks, under the influence of solar heat, water evaporates and so-called "young crystals" are formed. This salt is used in fresh vegetable salads, in grilled dishes, served with fish, and decorated with confectionery. Produced only in Brittany. From 40 kg of raw materials, only 0.5 kg of the finished product is obtained. They say that it is simply impossible to oversalt with such salt (most likely because of the price of $ 50 per 100g).

The French thought of transferring the aroma of wine even to salt - Fume de sel.

When burning wooden barrels of Chardonnay wine, salt is fumigated with outgoing smoke. As a result of cold smoking, the product gets a delicate smoky aroma with wine notes. Such salt is used only in ready-made dishes. Cost $20 per 100g

Wine pink saltMerlot enriched with the taste of the same wine and the same French.

Such salt is equivalent in solidity to aged, vintage wine. Used mainly for desserts, especially chocolate. You can buy for about $ 20 - 100g.

Salt Sugpo Asin in the kitchens of the Filipinos, this is a common seasoning, while for Europe and America it is a privilege of expensive restaurants. The uniqueness of this salt is that it is produced only in the province of Pangasinan "Land of Salt" and only for a few months a year.

And, in principle, it is a by-product, because. in the tanks from which salt is extracted, king tiger prawns are grown. From December to May, after the rainy season, under the rays of the sun, salt begins to evaporate from the water where the shrimp lived. Bizarrely shaped crystals are collected by hand, then crushed. Salt has a specific shrimp taste. The price for 50g is $15.

Himalayan pink salt close to the sea, since its deposits are located on the site of a previously existing sea. In addition, volcanic processes enriched it with iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, which gave the salt a peculiar flavor. Therefore, it has found application not only in cooking.

Now such salt is used in the interior decoration of houses and saunas, it is used to make lamps that are incredibly warm in terms of radiation.

The layers of this salt have a very high density, so it can be used in blocks. If you put such a stove on the fire, then you can cook dishes on it like in a frying pan. The cost of edible salt is $15 per 250g.

The Australian river also has a pink color (almost instant dissolution, algae give color), Hawaiian (the addition of clay of volcanic origin tints the salt, quite hard and poorly soluble).

Uniquely shaped salt Pearls (Beads) Djibouti.

It is collected from the shores of the crater salt lake Assal, located 155 m below sea level, this is the lowest point in Africa. Under the miraculous influence of wind, water and sun, the salt acquires a spherical shape. It is harvested and sorted by size from "egg" to "grapefruit". Price depending on the size from $10 per 100g.

There is a concept "kosher salt". In Jewish cuisine, before raw meat is used, it is treated with coarse salt. After that, it becomes kosher (suitable) for cooking, hence the name of the salt. Those. salt itself is ordinary table salt, coarse grinding.

Almost every country has its own ethnic salt: Mexican with the famous chili pepper, Indian with the smell of a rotten egg, Caucasian with a spicy aroma. Each nation has its own cuisine and its own salt.

One thing that all types of salt have in common is NaCl (sodium chloride). Sodium retains water intake and maintains water and acid-base balance in the fluid components of the body, is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle contractions. Chlorine is involved in the formation of gastric juice.

In principle, the body does not need a specific combination of NaCl, i.e. salt. To sustain life, we simply need these elements Na and Cl. And how they get into our body is not important. Yes, many people don’t even think about it, they just salt food out of habit, because without it it’s not tasty and thus supply themselves with these elements, often in excess.

As a result, due to water retention, the volume of circulating blood increases, which in turn increases the load on the heart. This is immediately felt by people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, in particular coronary heart disease, or those who have suffered a myocardial infarction. Although out of ignorance or because of unwillingness to admit the true cause of the deterioration in well-being, weather conditions are often blamed. Excess salt is no less dangerous for those suffering from hypertension. After all, sodium increases vasospasm, which causes blood pressure to rise significantly. What to say about the kidneys, they drive all the liquid through themselves. And imagine what salt mountains they need to remove from the body! If the kidneys fail to cope, edema begins and kidney stones develop. And these are terrible pains, incomparable with a toothache! Until the age of 35-40, such problems do not bother, so you need to instill a culture of salt consumption from childhood. So that at least your children live happily among their relatives, and not painfully spend time in a hospital bed.

The norm of sodium intake for a healthy person, at a comfortable temperature (20-22 ° C) and without physical activity, is 1 g per day, for children no more than 0.3 g. With a salt-free balanced diet, 0.8 g of sodium is accumulated in products alone. With intense sweating, this amount should be increased by 2-3 grams.

The products themselves already contain the necessary "salt components" in sufficient quantities: 3 - 5 g in bread (this is taking into account its normal salinity), 100 g of unsalted butter contains 0.69 g of sodium chloride, cod - 0.30, chicken egg - 0.21, unsalted cream cheese - 0.20, beef - 0.11, carrots - 0.06, and 100 grams of white cabbage, semolina, green beans, pike contain approximately 0.095 grams of sodium chloride. However, during heat treatment, many products lose "salt components". Therefore, many experts focus on this attention. And since heat-treated foods predominate in our diet, we are forced to use salt. Another thing, in what quantity? Both excess and absence of Na and Cl are detrimental to the body.

It turns out that salt, in fact, is a pill, a pill. Therefore, it must be treated as a medicine, moreover, as a medicine based on poison. If you want to be healthy and not suffer from excess weight, high blood pressure and swelling, balance your taste priorities. At first, unsalted and even undersalted food seems insipid and tasteless. But if you deceive the taste buds and season the dishes with spices, herbs, sour juices of lemon, lime, etc. a new flavor will emerge. You will begin to feel the beauty of each product, and you will love it!

So does a person need salt?

A little test: do you salt your portion of food without tasting it? If yes, then you consume more than 20 grams of salt per day. So you shorten your life by 15 years or so, problems with high blood pressure, heart and kidneys will begin no later than 45 years.

So is it necessary to sit on a very moderate salt intake? It's up to you to decide.

There are many examples in history when people had no idea about the existence of salt, while they were completely healthy, of course, they ate a lot of raw plant and meat foods. In particular, the Indian tribes of America did not use salt before the arrival of Columbus. And the German troops retreating for a long time after the defeat in the lifeless desert of Egypt, without salt reserves, did not suffer any vital loss. Therefore, the great importance of salt, as such, in human nutrition is exaggerated. Still, it's a habit!

Take care of yourself, and especially your children, from processed meat (sausage, sausages, various types of smoked meats), from chips and salty crackers, nuts, etc., in which there is an exorbitant amount of salt!

The daily human need for the total amount of salt according to modern data is 0.5-5g (up to 1 tsp). And according to experts in the field of nutrition, in the average daily diet of a person, more than 15 grams are present in products and about 5 grams more in salting.

The lethal dose of salt is 3g per 1kg of human weight.

Replenishment of salt balance should be done depending on the intensity of physical activity and ambient temperature. In some diseases and blood loss, it is even necessary to forcibly saturate the body with a saline solution in order to maintain a normal electrolyte level inside the cells.

Sodium is able to hold 400r more water relative to its volume. Those. for every teaspoon of salt (6g), the body will be filled with water by 600g.

The sensation of salt paralyzes 206 lingual taste buds.

The complete exclusion of products in which Na and Cl are contained in their natural form and salt will lead to a deterioration in the functioning of the digestive system, muscle lethargy, impaired coordination, drowsiness and cell death. Ultimately, and the whole organism as a whole.

Salt allows you to remove oxygen from the water, so when cooking, it is recommended to add a small pinch of salt to boiling water. However, cook everything else without salt and salt the finished dishes only on your plate.

Use healthy sauerkraut after washing it from the brine.

Time to salt the "brain".