sea salt

a contradictory commodity
It’s ironic that salt is toxic to humans and even marine life, and yet it is essential to the health of both. Fish, for example, placed in a tank of water with salt added to mimic natural sea water, soon die. If you were to find yourself stranded at sea unable to resist the temptation of drinking sea water, you would likely suffer hallucinations, seizures, nausea, vomiting and, eventually coma followed by death. Still, this mineral is required to regulate muscle and nerve function, as well as maintain fluid balance. It can also be said that salt flavors life, or at least our food.

buying and selling salt
Salt has been an important staple and commodity since humans learned to dig in the earth. The mineral has earned a place at the table of the very rich and the very poor, and many communities and cities have been built around its harvesting and trade. There is an old Moroccan saying that demonstrates this ideology: By bread and salt we are united. In ancient Rome, a soldier “worth his salt” was sometimes paid in salt for his services. This payment was known as a salarium, a word derived from the Latin word for salt and which provides the root for the modern word “salary.” Salt was such a driving factor in the economy of 12th century England, that several coastal towns were given names with the suffix “wich” or “wych” to indicate its affiliation with salt production. It is interesting to note that this tradition extended to New England towns in The New World centuries later.

Salt has not only contributed to the development of global civilizations but, again, ironically, it has also played a role in events that have torn them apart. The eventual rise of monopolies that led to controlled production, trade and salt taxes often triggered the evacuation of the local population in defiance or the declaration of war. Speaking of war… it was once common practice to salt the earth to sanctify cities overtaken in battle. The custom included the intention to jinx anyone with the inclination to restore the sacked city. Similarly, salt was poured on the land of convicted criminals, most notably traitors, in the belief that nothing — and no one — would prosper there again.

why sea salt?
In terms of culinary value, sea salt offers more texture and a saltier bite due to grain size. Sea salt is also a natural product obtained by the evaporation of seawater. Because it does not undergo processing, its mineral content — calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc. — remains intact. In contrast, ordinary table salt is mined from salt deposits or manufactured in brine water and is then refined, which removes the mineral content. Table salt also typically contains anti-caking agents.