While others have sweet tooth, I have this insatiable craving for something salty, like green mangoes dipped in a mixture of salt, pepper and vinegar. I understand that too much of anything is bad for the health, so I always make sure that my salt intake is in moderation. However, given my love for salt, it’s a shame it took me this long to understand how Kosher differs from Himalayan; a Fleur de Sel from Flake Salt, or a Coarse Salt from Rock Salt. Good I took up culinary classes last summer, I now realize that when hotel chefs mention a “Rock” or “Grinder” they are not talking about the latest dance steps!
Kinds of Salt
This is not an exhaustive list of salts, but some of those you will hear people talk about in diners or fancy restaurants, including those you read on labels of some groceries.
Most kitchens have table salt which often contains iodine as an added the health factor. It is fine enough to pass through the holes of saltshakers and is the kind as salt most people are familiar with.
Rock salt is sometimes called ice cream salt because it is mainly used by ice cream factories to make tasty ice cream.
Unlike table salt, sea salt is commonly granular in shape and size, tastes “saltier” than table salt because it comes directly from salt beds where water from the sea is pumped into and left to evaporate. Once water has evaporated, salt remains. This is gathered and sold at a higher price because it gives food better taste.
Fleur de sel is the pride of France. It is expensive, but perfect over steak.
Kosher- certified salt is a kind of salt that has passed the strict standards of Kosher. Once a product has been issued a Kosher certificate, it means it has met the guidelines of the Jewish Faith as to how food should be produced and prepared.
Himalayan salt comes from the Himalayan Mountains where sea beds dating back millions of years ago have been unearthed and Himalayan salt is said to be the purest salt in today’s store shelves.
Tequila salt! For some awesome Margaritas
Basic Info about Salt
Salt is the common term for the chemical compound sodium chloride, which is represented
by this symbol: NaCl. Its chief source is seawater. And just like the seas where it 
comes from, salt is one commodity that is as old as time itself.
For millions of years, it defined how people lived and carried on trade by using salt as a form of currency. There were historical records that clearly indicated how salt was so entrenched in history, trade and commerce.
Egyptian mummies were preserved using salt, and Greeks bought slaves with salt. It was believed that this practice of barter, exchanging slaves for some amount of salt gave rise to the expression still in use today. When you hear someone saying “not worth his salt,” this is reminiscent of how slaves were treated like commodity, some not worth the price they were paid for – in salt.
There were also accounts of Roman soldiers receiving their portions of salt as “salarium argentum”, apparently where the word “salary” was derived from. As life evolved, the use of salt reached kingdoms far and wide, and became a trigger for much strife, until it found its way on altars as an indispensable part of religious celebrations honoring deities and even the dead.
Salt, a small granule with a rich past. Without it, food tastes bland and with bland food comes a bland life.
