A Salute To Salt

I salute salt. Salt is what it takes to bring out the best in food. Thank heavens salt is always in season and ready for us as a seasoning.

For me, life without salt would be no picnic. Olives, cheeses, cured meats and even our tuyo and daing get their distinctive character from salt.

Salt comes in different tastes, colors and textures. It is available anywhere and everywhere. It is important in food preservation and yes, the human body needs it. Salt has been an important commodity throughout the ages. It was once used as a form of exchange. In fact, Roman soldiers received a salt allowance as part of their pay.

Salt, also known as sodium chloride, comes from either the salt mines or the sea. However, most of the salt we eat today is mined and comes from large deposits left by dried salt lakes throughout the world.

Common table salt, a fine-grained refined salt with additives, is mainly used in cooking or as a table condiment. Iodized salt is table salt with added iodine (sodium iodide), which is important in the prevention of hyperthyroidism. Kosher salt is an additive-free, coarse grained salt. It is used by some Jews in the preparation of meat and is well-favored by most gourmet cooks who prefer its textures and flavor. Sea salt has been used through the ages. Salt water from the sea is transferred to basins and inlets where the sun and wind evaporate the water, leaving behind the salt that is raked into files for harvest. Sea salt comes in fine grains or larger crystals. Celtic salt is a natural and solar evaporated sea salt harvested from the Atlantic marshes in Britanny, France using a 2,000-year-old Celtic tradition. It has a mellow, sweet-salty flavor. Rock salt, commonly used in the Philippines, has a grayish cast because it is not as refined as the other salts. Therefore, it retains more minerals and harmless impurities. These are just some of the more well-known salts we use.

There are salt substitutes available in health shops and are frequently used by those on low salt diets. There are also products which contain minimum amounts or no sodium at all.

Nowadays, with the deli and specialty gourmet shops around there can be some confusion as to the kinds of salt used in their products. And, mind you, not all cooking experts and chefs are gaga over salt.

Even Julia Child doesn’t care much for the stuff. She doesn’t seem to fancy the use of salt as she states in the cookbook Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, which she co-authored with another famous chef, Jacques Pepin. Julia does not want to be bothered with the different kinds of salt around. She says she uses only regular table salt. She also disagrees with chefs who say sea salt is more flavorful.

In my cooking classes, my students always ask me which salt is the best. My answer always is: Salt is salt but I suggest that rock salt or sea salt be used for food that requires longer cooking time and fine iodized salt is to be used for food that requires short cooking time or for baking because it will dissolve faster because of its fine texture.

I guess you can say it’s just a matter of preference. Let’s not make our life too complicated. Just enjoy life through good food with the right amount of salt!

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You can reach the author at heny sison@pacific.net.ph.