Earn your salt!

“There is no beginning to this history, but one to start is with salt.” ~ Catherine Venable Moore, “O Beulah Land”

Salt, or sodium chloride, is not merely a seasoning but a molecule of history, a crystal of chemistry, and a symphony of flavors.

Flavors: Salt is unique. It’s one of the basic tastes perceived by our taste buds, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. But salt’s role is transcendental—it enhances and balances other flavors, suppresses bitterness, and can bring a dish from blandness to brilliance. It comes in various forms, from the fleur de sel, hand-harvested sea salt known for its delicate flavor and texture, to the pink Himalayan salt, rich in minerals, each bringing a distinct character to dishes.

Chemistry: At the molecular level, salt is a compound of sodium and chloride ions held together by ionic bonds. These ions play critical roles in our body, from nerve transmission to muscle function. In cooking, salt’s chemistry is transformative. It can denature proteins, making a brine that keeps our roasted chicken juicy. It also enhances the release of molecules into the air, carrying aroma to our nose, which is essential to our taste perception. So, without salt, your nerves won’t function, and your body will not be able to move electricity around within your systems = you are done without it. Like many things, we have overdone it with time, and well, it is delicious, but too much of a good thing can also get you into hot water.

Role in History: Salt’s story is the story of civilization. It has been a medium of exchange, a preservative that allowed humans to store food long before refrigeration, and a commodity that carved trade routes across continents. Wars have been fought over salt; it has been taxed and hoarded, and it has even been used as currency. The phrase “worth one's salt” reflects its historical value to society. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid their wages in salt.

Salt was one of the pillars of Appalachia for hundreds of years. “Salt Works,” or mines, were scattered throughout the region. Take Saltville, VA. Yes, there is a town called Saltville. It sits at the base of Clinch Mountain. Since the earliest remembrances here, salt has been mined and cured and sent downriver to meatpackers in Cincinnati, Louisville, Knoxville, Nashville, and as far as New Orleans.

From their website: “Tucked in the mountains of Southwest Virginia lies one of the most historically significant communities in our nation: Saltville, Virginia.

The inland saline marsh of Saltville possesses one of the most essential ingredients of worldwide history: salt. Wars were fought over salt; cultures were built around it. Since the 1780s, salt has been continuously produced in the town. Industry capitalized on salt products and created the first fully infra-structured “company town.” Beautifully situated in a valley of the Appalachian Mountains, Saltville demonstrates a remarkable passage through history with unique character to experience today!” (saltville.org)

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Salt, in its humble ubiquity, is remarkable. It reminds us that the simplest things often have the deepest impact on our daily lives, our health, and our history.

So next time you sprinkle that pinch of salt, remember that you are not just seasoning your food; you’re partaking in a legacy that has seasoned the tapestry of human existence.

Here are few to consider (there are so many):

Sea Salt / Rock Salt

When it comes to getting the most flavorful and nutritious experience from your seasonings, there’s no substitute for natural sea salt! Containing essential minerals and devoid of the anti-caking additives found in most conventional table salts, wild-harvested, solar-evaporated sea salt is an invaluable addition to any spice rack. Sea salt comes from the sea, that easy, but it can also come from a mine, as it does in Utah, which was the sea floor eons ago.

This is unrefined sea salt that is harvested in underground salt deposits. The one I’m most familiar with is the one in Redmond, Utah, which is from an ancient inland sea known as the Sundance Sea. Since it’s mined underground, it is naturally a very dry salt loaded with over 60+ trace minerals. This salt can be purchased in just about any size, from fine to coarse, and will range in color from white to pink to red. It has a slightly sweet flavor, which is awesome when seasoning foods.

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Rock Salt was Sea Salt once upon a time. Now, it may be in a mine under a mountain that was an ocean. Table salt is sea or rock (sama sama) and is sold finely ground, usually with a little agent to help it not turn hard in the box or larger ground, and often referred to as “Kosher Salt.” Sometimes, Iodine is added to table salt, and although Iodine is available elsewhere (like in fish and dairy), this is a very efficient way for people with thyroid issues to get enough of the critical supplement. Don’t hate on the Morton’s because of the Iodine; it’s a good thing. Salt sold as Kosher will not have this added.

Sel Gris or Grey Salt

Also known as Celtic salt, it is harvested with wooden rakes from the lower floor of salt tidal pools around France. It has less sodium than regular table salt and is much higher in mineral content. It has a bright, almost brine-like tang flavor to it due to mineral content and is obviously typically gray in color.

I mention this one because it’s the go-to for shellfish and seafood.

Flake Salt (My favorite)

In addition to its mineral content, salt shape, and texture should also be considered in your seasoning selections. Culinary flake salt adds a delicate, melt-on-the-tongue finishing accent to grilled vegetables and can disappear into baked goods. Fleur de Sal, or flowers from the sea, are the salt you see in the image above. They are only harvested in a certain latitude of the Earth, such as Mexico, England, the ocean-facing Mediterranean, SE Asia, and Australia.

Seasoning or Compoud Salt

Get all your seasoning staples in a single bottle. There are many blends of salts, herbs, and spices on the market. Organic seasoning salt blends generally contain some mix of sea salt, pepper, and zesty but versatile ingredients like organic garlic or organic paprika. Including ubiquitous ingredients makes seasoning salt an efficient option for savory dishes of all kinds, from sautéed vegetables to entree salads to rice-based side dishes.

Smoked Salts

Salt plus fire yields a transformative flavor force! High-quality sea salt is slow-smoked over fragrant wood chips (different wood varieties impart different flavors and tints), resulting in a seasoning capable of turning stove-top cooking into campfire-inspired cuisine. Great for grilled entrees and hearty stews, it also adds a delightfully unique twist to fermentation brines, Bloody Mary mixes, caramel desserts, and other less conventional creations.

Black Lava Salt

Black lava salt gets its distinctive color and flavor from its infusion of natural activated charcoal. Harvested from Hawaii’s volcanic shores, it brings out the deep, dark, and smoky flavors of roasted vegetables, hearty soups, stir-fry dishes, and barbecue.

Red Alaea Salt

Alaea sea salt takes its head-turning coral color from its collection source: the ferrous volcanic clays of Hawaiian tidal pools. Native islanders have used salt as a seasoning and preservative for generations, and chefs worldwide consider its distinctive flavor the ideal pairing for complex and spicy dishes.

Himalayan Pink Salt (aka Rock Salt, but from there…)

The surpassing purity of Himalayan pink salt has made it an enduring favorite not only of chefs but of holistic wellness and aesthetic practitioners as well. Its variegated pink-to-white coarse grains offer a satisfying crunch that can match almost any dish without overpowering its flavors.

I cannot help but cringe when I see things made from this precious substance not destined for someone’s table. Coasters, lamps, ashtrays, are you even kidding me? Once money itself and now a place to rest your coffee or set the mood.

How the mighty are brought low… ugh

A Chef’s Guide to Salt

There are a few basics to salt, but the essentials are Origins, meaning where it came from, how it’s harvested there, and the size of the grains.

Every grain of salt tells a story about where it comes from and who it’s met along the way if you listen.

In cooking, there are two times to salt. One is while you are cooking, and one is after you are done cooking and ready to serve. The latter part is called “finishing salt.” Salt that you use for cooking is like the table salt that you see commonly. No matter if it comes from Redmond, Utah (under the land in mines that were once the sea) or from the sea itself. Remember that smaller grains have MORE surface area. More surface area means your perception of it will be more, thus, saltier. This is not the place where most novices (and a lot of pros) make mistakes. If you are to ‘generously salt’ something, this is when this happens, pre-heat.

Salting after you cook is where the issue of ‘hey, that is waaaaay too salty’ arises. This salt (if regular small grains) does not have time to melt, blend into the food, and add the seasoning you seek; it’s simply there on top and is the first thing your taste buds detect, like all upfront. Finishing salt is more like the flake salt you see above. It’s way larger and has LESS surface area. Your taste buds don’t get blasted out, and you perceive the crunch and texture with only a mild addition of saltiness. Also, you will see Chefs adding this very sparingly at the end.

Thanks for reading!