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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 8:46:43 AM

sub4hire

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Why not just buy it in much smaller quantities? We only use sea salt but we only buy the small box. It has yet to clump up.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 9:31:35 AM

Termyn8or

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I don't know what the humidity is like in Nebraska, but in the summer here in Ohio it gets as humid as Florida sometimes. If I just grind it and put it in a shaker, there will be water in it, extracted from the air. That's the way this stuff is. I have not seen anything like it hence or wence. Even the old table salt that used to clump up wasn't this bad.

The problem is I am getting lazy, eating sandwiches and things like that, which you normally would not salt. So when I get a chance to use it I would like to. I know this much, this stuff cannot be exposed to the atmosphere for any length of time.

T

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 9:34:58 AM

Monkeyontuesday

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I haven't read the whole thread, so please excuse if this is a repeat: here in Houston we often put grains of rice in the shakers along with the salt. The rice absorbs the moisture and keeps it from clumping too much.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 10:02:23 AM

camille65

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When I lived in Michigan (surrounded by all those lakes) I had to add a few grains of rice to my salt as well. It doesn't change the flavor or consistancy of the salt, it just pulls the water in. I'd change out the grains every couple of months.

I use only sea salt but mine is a smaller grain, I shake it right from the cardboard container. For larger grained salt I'd recommend a marble mortar and pestle. Stay away from the metals.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 11:29:58 AM

sub4hire

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

I don't know what the humidity is like in Nebraska, but in the summer here in Ohio it gets as humid as Florida sometimes. If I just grind it and put it in a shaker, there will be water in it, extracted from the air. That's the way this stuff is. I have not seen anything like it hence or wence. Even the old table salt that used to clump up wasn't this bad.

I'd say the humidity is about the same. Last I was in Ohio..it wasn't that long ago. It was hot there to.
Anyway...still with the smaller box..no problems. I don't use salt even to cook with. Never really saw the benefit.
Yeah, it is supposed to heighten the flavor...but I don't see that.
I've filled the shaker once since we've lived here. French fries..well they need salt.

Anyway..I keep the box in a closed ziploc bag....maybe the moisture can't get in?

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 12:37:08 PM

Hippiekinkster

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I used to make synthetic sea water when at Shell for lab experiments. The predominant cation is Na+, 0.469 mol/kg, followed by Mg++, 0.0528 mol/kg, Ca++, .0103 mol/kg, and K+, 0.0102 mol/kg. As one can see, the concentration of other cations is small to insignificant compared to the sodium.

I can't taste the difference between it and Kroger iodized salt. I suspect many of those who claim they can are indulging in wishful thinking.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 1:10:01 PM

CallaFirestormBW

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

I don't know what the humidity is like in Nebraska, but in the summer here in Ohio it gets as humid as Florida sometimes. If I just grind it and put it in a shaker, there will be water in it, extracted from the air. That's the way this stuff is. I have not seen anything like it hence or wence. Even the old table salt that used to clump up wasn't this bad.

The problem is I am getting lazy, eating sandwiches and things like that, which you normally would not salt. So when I get a chance to use it I would like to. I know this much, this stuff cannot be exposed to the atmosphere for any length of time.

T

Hell-town, Texas is the CAPITOL of humidity... I put grains of rice in my salt-keeper, then shake it right before use. The rice absorbs much of the water in the air, and the grains keep the salt crystals separate or break them up during shaking. It's not very scientific, but it's worked for us for years.

As far as the whole question of 'why bother with sea salt'?; despite the close approximation of ingredients in both sea salt and table salt (mined salt), double-blind studies confirm that people perceive the taste of sea salt as 'saltier', and use less before declaring their food properly salted. While sea salt and table salt both have the same sodium content, apparently our taste-buds don't -perceive- them as the same, and the 'healthier' status of sea salt comes from the fact that people use less of it, not its composition. It is possible, though, that the slight variation in composition, which doesn't impact nutrition, including the presence of both potassium and calcium chloride, which the human taste bud registers as "salty" before it registers sodium chloride as 'salty', -may- be the reason that it tastes saltier to many people.

[References:
Mayo Clin Health Lett. 2006 Dec;24(12):8.;
Behav Neurosci. 2004 Dec;118(6):1409-17.
Nutr Hosp. 2002 Sep-Oct;17(5):256-8.
Physiol Behav. 1999 Mar;66(1):27-32.]

< Message edited by CallaFirestormBW -- 12/4/2008 1:11:03 PM >

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 3:08:56 PM

DomKen

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster

I used to make synthetic sea water when at Shell for lab experiments. The predominant cation is Na+, 0.469 mol/kg, followed by Mg++, 0.0528 mol/kg, Ca++, .0103 mol/kg, and K+, 0.0102 mol/kg. As one can see, the concentration of other cations is small to insignificant compared to the sodium.

I can't taste the difference between it and Kroger iodized salt. I suspect many of those who claim they can are indulging in wishful thinking.

From all discussion that I've seen sea salt's difference is primarily in texture. The big flakes of fleur de sel are definitely a different textural experience on a roast or steak compared to standard table salt.

I can definitely tell when I use kosher or table salt in cooking. I think the anti caking stuff in the table salt is responsible. I never cook with sea salt so I can't say anything about that.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 3:36:46 PM

Hippiekinkster

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DomKen

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster

I used to make synthetic sea water when at Shell for lab experiments. The predominant cation is Na+, 0.469 mol/kg, followed by Mg++, 0.0528 mol/kg, Ca++, .0103 mol/kg, and K+, 0.0102 mol/kg. As one can see, the concentration of other cations is small to insignificant compared to the sodium.

I can't taste the difference between it and Kroger iodized salt. I suspect many of those who claim they can are indulging in wishful thinking.

From all discussion that I've seen sea salt's difference is primarily in texture. The big flakes of fleur de sel are definitely a different textural experience on a roast or steak compared to standard table salt.

I can definitely tell when I use kosher or table salt in cooking. I think the anti caking stuff in the table salt is responsible. I never cook with sea salt so I can't say anything about that.

The sea salt I have is crystalline, about 1/8" or so on a side. Olde Thompson. I just tasted it and some regular iodized and the sea salt tasted "sweeter" than the other. I was surprised, as I have never noted a difference before.

You may be right about the silicoaluminate, although I would expect silicates to be tasteless (I've worked with silicates in the lab, but never tasted any). There's also sodium thiosulphate in the store brand as well. Why, I have no idea.

< Message edited by Hippiekinkster -- 12/4/2008 3:38:52 PM >

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 4:48:14 PM

Termyn8or

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Ironically I think the regular table salt tastes a bit better, but I didn't switch for flavor.

Granted you can't get your calcium and potassium out of it, but those trace minerals are hard to get into one's diet these days. The USDA recognizes 24 minerals as essential, but on their webite they only report the content of about ten of them in various foods. Other sources indicate that many more trace minerals are essential to good health.

I have long accused the medical profession of ignoring the mineral problem while concentrating on the much more lucrative vitamin industry. However it is difficult to get an idea if someone is getting enough minerals by a blood test. The greater part, if not all of some of these minerals are used by the glands, so you might find the chromium and vanadium in the pancreas, sulfur in the gall bladder and fleshy tissue and so forth. Probably not a good idea to rip the body apart for such tests.

There is alot less information on this subject than you would think, sure Google gets plenty of hits, but those are mostly sales sites. I have some good information for anyone interested, but I'll have to email it to you, I seem to have lost my FTP space.

T

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 6:05:17 PM

suhlut

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Ken...
lol.. so it seems both salts have the same sodium... so sue me.. for believing ads and commercials like this :

Campbell's® 25% Less Sodium soups let you enjoy your favorite Campbell's soups, but with lower sodium! They're made with high quality ingredients and seasoned with lower sodium natural sea salt, so they taste great! Try all three of Campbell's 25% Less Sodium condensed soups — Chicken Noodle, Tomato, and Cream of Mushroom

http://www.campbellsoup.com/lowersodium.aspx

To be honest.. i can't say as i really care.. as i happen to love love love salt.. either table.. or my favorite tasty sea salt.. i just sprinkle whatever tastes right.. and have never given a crap about "low sodium" diets.

It is rather sad though.. that companies can get away with lying like that.. i mean fine.. if they use sea salt as the method of salting thier soups.. with just a very small amount so that they are using it for the flavor and keeping the sodium lower... well thats perfectly fine... but to LIE outright and tell consumers that they use sea salt because its lower in sodium... and make people believe that if they buy it for their table shaker also.. that they will be getting lower sodium.. well thats just wrong!

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 8:12:09 PM

Hippiekinkster

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Suhlut, technically Campbell's aren't lying. Sea salt IS lower in sodium than table salt, but the difference is barely worth mentioning, somewhere around 1 to 2% lower.

Just for grins, I went and found some stuff about sea salt. Needless to say, there is quite a bit of quackery concerning sea salt. Here's one such site:
http://www.curezone.com/foods/saltcure.asp
About every other sentence contains false, misleading, and/or out-and-out bullshit pseudo-facts.

And that pink Himalayan crystal salt? Wow. I couldn't write BS like this if I tried.
http://www.himalayanwellness.com/salt_facts
Here's a line from the ad copy;
"In the beginning there is the thought. This thought is nothing but an electromagnetic frequency." Someone has no clue as to the meaning of "frequency". Typical for New-Agey horseshit, much like the use of the words "quantum" and "colloidal".

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 8:58:21 PM

Termyn8or

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Toldya HK, good info is hard to find on the subject, everyone is trying to sell something.

It's like with minerals, vendors will say this cures this and that cures that. It may happen but not likely. What people are not taught is that it takes all these minerals to work together in the body.

Now while I agree with your assessment that the sodium content of even the most unrefined seasalt is only negligibly less than that of table salt, and I think it less than your 1-2% estimate, those trace minerals are what is important.

One must realize that these trace minerals might not be needed even every day, but they are definitely needed. They tend to go to the organs which need them and though the bloodstream can pick them back up so to speak, the actual amount needed seems almost infinitesimal. But it's not.

You need calcium because it is used in so many organs, as well as the bones and teeth, and a calcium deficiency tends to take back in times of low ingestion. This causes osteoporosis, of which tooth decay is actually one form. It may not be the only cause, but it is a certain one.

Other minerals are used actually and need periodic replacement. But some of them are only needed in say one one hundredth of the quantity.

Take the example of calcium, you can get all the calcium you can possibly get, but if you don't get enough magnesium, manganese or whatever it's companion minerals are, it will cause problems.

I even believe that ateriosclerosis is caused by the lack of something. Something that should be in your bloodstream to eat up this plaque. It's like running a car off not quite the right fuel. I don't know exactly what is missing, but I can tell you this much, my Mother had a heart attck a couple years ago and underwent a quad bypass, while my Father at 70 has the heart of a teenager. His spread between diastolic ans systolic frequently is close to fifty points. Mine isn't even that high, I run about 45 point spread and I am talking both at rest.

They are not of that similar lineage, but both European descent. Some things are hereditary. We, in the US have been removed from an environment that our metabolisms have had eons to which to adapt. What is good for the moose is not necessarily what is good for the moose.

The most major commonality I can find is salt.

T

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 9:01:41 PM

UmbraDomina

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nothing tastes better on a finely grilled steak as finishing it off with french grey sea salt........ I love sea salt and the different variations of sea salt on the market, Where it comes from often subtly changes the flavor of it, and what it imparts onto your food.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/4/2008 9:28:17 PM

Hippiekinkster

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Magnesium is generally thought of as the companion cation to calcium, in my mind anyway, because I can determine the concentrations of both with an EDTA titration with eriochrome black T as the indicator, IIRC.

Many of the trace elements (or minerals; I prefer elements) are used as catalysts in chemical reactions in the body. That's what enzymes are, too; catalysts.

Calcium, sodium, and potassium are kind of like electrons, and certain ion channels act sort of like diodes, resistors, or unity-gain transistors. I don't pretend to understand it at all, but it's cool stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_channel

Anyway, we get what we need by eating a varied, wholesome diet. The amount of calcium one would get from sea salt is negligeable compared to how much the body needs each day. Calcium carbonate antacid tabs are a good source of supplemental calcium. I eat a banana nearly every day, so I get a decent amount of potassium ( http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/potassium-000320.htm ). The average adult needs about 2 grams a day, apparently. Again, sea salt's contribution is negligeable.

But, used moderately, it doesn't hurt, either.

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RE: Problems with sea salt - 12/5/2008 7:09:21 AM

Termyn8or

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Yes, but there are other trace elements which your body may only need a few mg per week. That makes them no less essential.

The thing that bothers me more is the anti clumping agent. Since it inhibits reaction between the salt and the moisture in the air, and the fact that our bodies are over 90% water, seems to me there may be some logic in statements put out, some by some fairly well regarded sources (I'll have to go find them if pressed) that the agent prevents proper metabolism of the sodium, thus a sodium problem that was seemingly non existent in the past. Further, upon my own supposition, if the agent is present, there is a possibility that it could inhibit proper metabolism of other minerals in the food.

It is very difficult to find proof beyond a reasonable doubt on a subject like this, so all we can do is go by a preponderance of evidence. On which side would you rather err ?

T

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