Salt to Taste:
The scoop on the most common seasoning that’s at the core of cooking
I
t may just sit in a shaker on your kitchen counter now, but throughout history cities have been built, empires have fallen and wars waged — all over the mineral we call salt. Essential to preserving, preparing and flavouring our food, salt doesn’t just make food taste better — it also sustains life. Chemically, pure salt consists of sodium and chlorine, and as one of the essential nutrients for human health, sodium chloride helps our bodies and brains carry out biological processes. Simply put, we cannot live without salt.
Salt through the ages
Different cultures have always placed great importance on salt. In ancient Egypt, it was a part of religious offerings; Phoenicians traded salt all across their Mediterranean empire, and early Romans salted their greens and vegetables, giving rise to the word ‘salad.’ Even our word ‘salary’ is derived from salt. Early explorers carried salt as an important trading commodity and
BY LYNDA SEA historic salt routes sprung up all across Europe. In France, the salt tax (gabelle) was a big contributor to the French Revolution. Currently, Canada is the fifth largest producer of salt worldwide. Vancouver Island Salt Co., started in 2008 by a former chef in Cobble Hill, is Canada’s first and largest harvester of sea salt.
Take it with a grain of salt
Salt is a condiment full of contradictions. Our bodies need it as much as we need air and water. It keeps the right balance of water in and around our cells and tissues, helps our nerves function properly and carries impulses to and from the brain. Without salt, our muscles wouldn’t contract, blood wouldn’t circulate, food wouldn’t be digested, nor our hearts pump. Yet, no other compound has been the object of as many numerous health studies and vilified as much as salt. Policymakers have always made a point for people to eat less of it; the World Health Organization says high sodium consumption plays a
part in high blood pressure and increases our risk of heart disease and stroke. This so-called war on salt started in earnest in the late ‘70s when a study showed evidence that salt caused hypertension in rats. But more recently, new research shows the link between salt in your diet and heart disease is actually more tenuous than we think. Adele Henderson is the owner of The Salt Cellar, a local Alberta company that sources and sells a variety of flavoured sea salts and seasoning blends. She agrees that there is still fear around salt if you have health issues, but she says the distinction must be made between sea salt and common iodized table salt. “Table salt has been stripped of its good nutrients,” she says. “Our sea salts are all natural and not refined. Refined salts have bleach and iodine and anti-caking agents to prolong shelf-life and these elements are not things that can be absorbed into our bodies.” Henderson says there are a lot of trace minerals in salt that our bodies need, and natural salts can help reduce fluid tension, balance electrolytes, digestion, and even aid upset stomachs.
Cooking with salt
When it comes to cooking and eating, salt is king. We’re hardwired to know when something is perfectly salted, too much or too little, from the immediate and undeniable slap to your 22 Culinaire | November 2020
