today's musing - Sea Salt
-
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:
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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)
-
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:
-
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
-
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.
-
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.)
-
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.
