today's musing - Sea Salt
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It is all about Advertising. The same can be said about the latest craze here in the States; plant based butter. In actuality, there are no major differences between "margarine" and "plant based butter". Which sounds healthier? Which sounds more wholesome, and vegan/vegetarian friendly? At the end of the day, it is all bullshitery.
Slacker007 wrote:
there are no major differences between "margarine" and "plant based butter".
I guess that today, you are essentially correct. But historically, margarine has been made from both animal fat, like lard, and marine oils, such as herring or whale oil. In my childhood, margarine based on soya was something new; the old margarines where whale based (and hard as stone when you fetched in from the fridge). The brand names are still the same, but they have been 'improved' (sounds better than 'changed'!) into pure vegetable based versions today. Maybe animal / marine based margarine never was very common in the States, but margarine is certainly not by definition plant based.
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Slacker007 wrote:
there are no major differences between "margarine" and "plant based butter".
I guess that today, you are essentially correct. But historically, margarine has been made from both animal fat, like lard, and marine oils, such as herring or whale oil. In my childhood, margarine based on soya was something new; the old margarines where whale based (and hard as stone when you fetched in from the fridge). The brand names are still the same, but they have been 'improved' (sounds better than 'changed'!) into pure vegetable based versions today. Maybe animal / marine based margarine never was very common in the States, but margarine is certainly not by definition plant based.
You may live in the past, I sure as hell don't. Margarine currently, here in the states, is almost identical to "plant based butters". There are tons of web site articles on the subject. So, my comments are still true, and still stand. You have not convinced me otherwise.
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
There's "Sea Salt Chocolate" which taste better (I'm convinced) than one made with table salt. Sea salt seems to taste less salty. Then there is the black kind for variety (I guess).
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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Slacker007 wrote:
there are no major differences between "margarine" and "plant based butter".
I guess that today, you are essentially correct. But historically, margarine has been made from both animal fat, like lard, and marine oils, such as herring or whale oil. In my childhood, margarine based on soya was something new; the old margarines where whale based (and hard as stone when you fetched in from the fridge). The brand names are still the same, but they have been 'improved' (sounds better than 'changed'!) into pure vegetable based versions today. Maybe animal / marine based margarine never was very common in the States, but margarine is certainly not by definition plant based.
My father told how margarine was sold with a separate packet of coloring -- to mix in at home. Apparently pressure from the Dairy industry would not let them sell margarine that was the color of butter. No idea what ingredients were used to make that margarine.
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My father told how margarine was sold with a separate packet of coloring -- to mix in at home. Apparently pressure from the Dairy industry would not let them sell margarine that was the color of butter. No idea what ingredients were used to make that margarine.
Wikipedia: Margarine[^] tells about the raw material in old days, as well as about the 'color wars'. Norwegian Wikipedia tells that German butter manufacturers demanded that margarine be colored blue or green, to distinguish it from butter (the demand was rejected). Also, margarine was to be packed in cubic packages, whereas butter was sold in rectangular prism packages. I remember this from my childhood, but I never knew that it was a legal requirement!
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I grew up in a place where most salt was mine salt. Sea salt was all the rage and everyone said it was better. When I went to India, most salt was sea salt. Mountain salt (Himalayan) was all the rage and everyone said it was better. Now here in Canada, Himalayan pink salt is better because... well, it's pink :) All you don't have is better and neighbor's grass is greener. We also import water from Fiji in a country with one quarter of the world's fresh water reserves. There is no limit to how gullible some people are.
Mircea
Quote:
There is no limit to how gullible some people are.
The word "gullible" has been removed from the dictionary.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth. To err is human, to arr is pirate.
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
I read "today's music - Sea Salt" and got really excited for a moment :sigh:
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
I once seen "suited for lactose-intolerant" on a bottle of water. The lengths marketing departments go to sell products to idiots never cease to astonish.
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I grew up in a place where most salt was mine salt. Sea salt was all the rage and everyone said it was better. When I went to India, most salt was sea salt. Mountain salt (Himalayan) was all the rage and everyone said it was better. Now here in Canada, Himalayan pink salt is better because... well, it's pink :) All you don't have is better and neighbor's grass is greener. We also import water from Fiji in a country with one quarter of the world's fresh water reserves. There is no limit to how gullible some people are.
Mircea
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
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I read "today's music - Sea Salt" and got really excited for a moment :sigh:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
It DOES sound like the name of a musical artist you would appreciate!
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Quote:
There is no limit to how gullible some people are.
The word "gullible" has been removed from the dictionary.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth. To err is human, to arr is pirate.
The word 'dupe' will be next.
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
First, totally agree that it's an overhyped thing that most people would never notice the difference and marketing people use to push their products. That being said, this would fall under terroir[^]. Normally used when referring to wine, but I think it can apply in this case too. Someone with a trained palette can probably identify different salts and regions vs the average person who wouldn't and just may like one more than the other.
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
I don't buy many processed foods (where marketing plays a large roll), but I do use both sea salt and Himalayan, and here's why: 1) they are saltier than chemically produced salt which makes a difference in baking 2) they have no additives - table salt has an anti-caking agent that is iffy on safety and iodine (good on the face of it, but not naturally occurring) 3) Maybe it's just me, but the table salt tastes chemical to me, and I think I can tell the difference between the pink and sea salts (it may be all in my head since I haven't actually tested it)
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I grew up in a place where most salt was mine salt. Sea salt was all the rage and everyone said it was better. When I went to India, most salt was sea salt. Mountain salt (Himalayan) was all the rage and everyone said it was better. Now here in Canada, Himalayan pink salt is better because... well, it's pink :) All you don't have is better and neighbor's grass is greener. We also import water from Fiji in a country with one quarter of the world's fresh water reserves. There is no limit to how gullible some people are.
Mircea
For the most part you're right. But Fiji water I'm pretty sure I could pick out blindfolded. I don't go out of my way for it, but when I need bottled water, I try to find that. It may be simply the fact that they use a better plastic bottle than others. :laugh:
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For the most part you're right. But Fiji water I'm pretty sure I could pick out blindfolded. I don't go out of my way for it, but when I need bottled water, I try to find that. It may be simply the fact that they use a better plastic bottle than others. :laugh:
And the exquisite smell of oil burned by the ship that crossed the Pacific... priceless :laugh:
Mircea
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
The only advantage I see with sea salt is that the salt grains are larger than the regular Morton salt grains. It's easier for me to see (old eyes), so it's less likely for me to over salt whatever it is I'm adding salt too. Personally, I don't buy it but the wifey buys into all the hype on salt, vitamins, etc.
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
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Sea Salt is an ingredient that is listed in large letters on many products. Seems to be just hype. Other than the size of the salt crystal, can anyone detect a difference with table salt? It's all NaCl. I know there can be traces of other elements, but that's unrelated to the basic salt, right? (I'm ignoring other kinds of salts such as KCl.)
In my experience the only thing that really distinguishes different salts is the additives: * Iodine * Anti-caking agents Iodine is frequently added to salt to help with a common deficiency. Anti-caking agents help prevent the salt from clumping. There are usually fewer anti-caking agents added to salt with larger granules. This site seems to have some useful information: [2.12.4: Foods - Salt Additives - Chemistry LibreTexts](https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General\_Chemistry/Book%3A\_ChemPRIME\_(Moore\_et\_al.)/02%3A\_Atoms\_Molecules\_and\_Chemical\_Reactions/2.12%3A\_Formulas\_and\_Composition/2.12.04%3A\_Foods\_-\_Salt\_Additives) In Short - Salt is salt.
