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What are the differences between the various salts ?

Regular salt ( table salt ) as we have come to know of it is mined from the underground, where as Sea Salt is obtained from a variety of sources that allow salt water fro the oceans to be evaporated off and the salt contained there in deposited and gathered.

The salt deposits that are mined from underground, are really the mineral beds of former oceans that once were abundant throughout the world and evaporated during the course of millions of years.

These deposits vary in depth within the earths crusts and because of the geological movements of the earth have been thrust up through the different levels of strata.

Rock salt is another variety of salt and is contaminated with earth deposits and other materials that are unsuitable and more often very difficult and costly refine for use with food.

Water is pumped into the salt bed areas and then the embedded salt dissolves so as to form a brine solution from which it can be drawn off and refined of its impurities through evaporation so that the tiny crystals of salt that we  are familiar with to will be created.

in areas such as the West coast of France in the Bay of Biscay around St. Nazarre region, there are numerous

man and naturally made salt marshes. It is here as with other areas of the world which apply the same technique that the sun and the wind evaporate the water and the salt deposit is left behind to be harvested.

Different degrees of refining processes will give the varying qualities of sea salt that are available for use.

Colors are also subject to the regions from where the initial process of evaporation of the salt was performed. This is due to the presence of different allies and other clay or minerals contained in the areas that the various salt has been acquired from. Pinks and grays, will be prevalent to France and Korea as Black sea salt will be from India. Red and black will come from the Hawaiian islands which because of the volcanic activity will present lava ash.

Through each and every variety of salt that one will come across, flavor profiles will be noticeably change

due to the mineral and other deposits that are being tasted along with the salt. After all salt is salt and

will taste the same without the other deposits being present.

Raw salt or basic salt that is removed through evaporation from the ground or the ocean will have a dull grey color and will be quite sharp and bitter to the taste.

It contains around 78% Sodium Chloride: other wise known as common salt.

The other 22% make up will have at least 75 different elements in it. Of that 22% - 91 % will consist of magnesium and calcium compounds and from which comes the bitter taste.

The minerals that so many decry contain so many substantial health properties are really so minute that

that they do not show on any scale unless vast quantities are consumed - Not a very pleasant thought at all.

A single grape will have more iron in it that two tablespoons of salt. I would go for the grape in that case.

In order to set a standard for pureness of salt that we use in cooking the FDA has stipulated that US food grade salt is at least 97.5% pure Sodium Chloride.

Within sea salt the sun is a allowed to evaporate  the majority of water from the marsh basins and ponds were

it is collected. This is critical for the concentration of the sodium chloride which when the sun has finally evaporated the water sodium chloride being the majority chemical factor will form tiny crystals and that is

how salt is then gathered for further refining before use. The concentration of this sodium chloride will

be around nine times that of sea water content.

Salt water that has sprayed over items then dried, is dried through a process known as solar evaporation and this is very pure containing around 99% sodium chloride.

The remaining one percent of minerals left will be mostly calcium and magnesium meaning that there will

little or no benefit from the one percent of minerals left.

Four ounces of solar salt, as this substance is called, would have to be consumed in order to get the same

iron benefit that the single grape discussed earlier will give one.

just as sea salt is iodized is also not true. The iodine content of sea salt is dependent on the seaweeds

that are rich in iodine be present in the area of harvesting.

Actual there is about one hundred times more boron present than there is iodine in sea salt.

Many sea salts sold in the worlds market places might not have come from the ocean originally, because

there is no precise regulation specification which dictates the origins of salt and its marketing description

or claims.

Anti caking factors are placed with many salts that are sold, these will keep the tiny crystals flowing evenly.

The FDA has a limit on these anti caking ingredients and holds the requirement of not being more than 2 %

over total volume in any container or package.

calcium silicate is the more commonly used ingredient but there are many others that can and are used

calcium phosphates, sodium aluminum silicates, calcium carbonate. The majority of which will go

unnoticed to the taste buds due the 50.000 fold dilution factor that will occur when salt is used

within a recipe being prepared.

There is a formula that can be followed     

If a teaspoon contains 6 grams of salt, then 0.06 grams diluted in say 95 ounces (3 quarts) of soup

would be 3,000 grams of soup --  3,000 / 0.06 = 50,000

What really is being tasted are the minute mineral deposits and how the salt reacts within the mouth of

the consumer.

Due to the time of the harvesting and the latter refinement process possibly of the salt the crystal

formation will differ considerably.

If salt is sprinkled onto a moist vegetable product for example and then eaten, some of the dusty finer

flakier salt crystals will remain airborne and possibly be inhaled combining this experience with

that of the mouth feel and minute mineral taste, will quite often give the consume a mild metallic

experience.

Sea salt has few of these dusty, finer flakes, due to the slower evaporation process it has been

exposed to rather that the salt obtained from the mining technology used.

Sea salt from the Biscay coast line of France will have different size representations as well some will

be quite large due to wind, tide and sun St. Nazarre area or Brittany area.

Salt can form a crust on the surface of the marsh ponds and is skimmed very carefully by hand in order

to not break the larger crystal formations. This is the greatest prize and is called the Fleur de sel

(flower of salt) This is not good for cooking as it dissipates into nothing during the cooking process and

leaves no distinguishing benefit to the product in question.  - gros sel ( big crystal salt) - sel gris (grey salt)

which are the heavier crystals that fall to the bottom and mingles with the clay are better for cooking.

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