Edible salts, also known as table salts, are salts generally derived from mining (rock salt) or evaporation (including sea salt). Edible salts may be identified by such characteristics as their geographic origin, method of preparation, natural impurities, additives, flavourings, or intended purpose (such as pickling or curing).
Name | Image | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Alaea salt | Seasoned | A Hawaiian-style sea salt mixed with a red volcanic clay. | |
Alpenbergkern salt | Rock | Salt from the Salzkammergut area in the Alps. This salt contains 84 minerals. Its high iron content gives it a unique tan color. | |
Anatolian (Çankırı) salt | Rock | From underground salt deposits in Çankırı, Central Anatolia, Turkey. Rocks have a white translucent appearance. There are many caves in the province that are used for salt mining since the Hittites. | |
Anglesey sea salt (Halen Môn) | Sea | A Welsh sea salt extracted from salt flakes harvested from the Menai Strait in Anglesey (PDO). [1] | |
Asín tibuok | Sea | Literally "whole salt" or "unbroken salt". A rare Filipino traditional artisanal sea salt made from continually soaking coconut husks in seawater for six months then burning it into ashes. Seawater is then poured through the ashes and the resulting brine boiled in clay pots in a furnace. The result is an egg-shaped lump of salt. It is characteristically sold with the upside down broken clay pot, earning it the nickname of "dinosaur egg salt" due to its appearance. Used as seasoning by scraping over food. It originates from Bohol island, Philippines. [2] [3] | |
Bahamas sea salt | Sea | Sea salt has been produced on Great Inagua Island since the 1930s. The Morton Salt Company bought the facility in 1954. This site, comprising 300,000 acres on Great Inagua Island, produces about a million pounds of salt per year‚ the second largest saline operation in North America. Bahamas sea salt can be found in grocery stores and supermarkets in the United States. [4] | |
Balinese sea salt | Sea | This seawater is poured over a flat area of raked black sand and left to evaporate for several days. The dry salty sand is gathered and transferred into a series of coconut trunk vats. More sea water is then poured over the salty sand—this filtering process can be repeated several times, until the briny liquid reaches its briniest. The brine is poured into long hollow tree trunks and left to evaporate completely for a final time. Amed, [5] Kusamba, [6] and Tejakula [7] are regions that produce Balinese sea salt. | |
Black lava salt | Seasoned | A salt colored with activated charcoal. Hawaiian manufacture among others. | |
Brine | A saltwater used in the preservation of food. | ||
Butter salt | Seasoned | Salt with butter flavouring. | |
Celery salt | Seasoned | Salt seasoned with celery seeds. | |
Cooking salt | A coarse salt that is used in cooking but not at the table. | ||
Croatian sea salt | Sea | Evaporated from Adriatic sea water collected in salt pans at the town of Nin, Croatia. | |
Curing salt | A salt containing sodium nitrite, used in the preservation of meats. [8] | ||
Cyclic salt | Cyclic | Any salt deposited by the wind. | |
Cyprian pyramid salt | Sea | Flakes shapes resembling pyramids evaporated from salt pans around the island of Cyprus. | |
Çamaltı (Billur) salt | Sea | Fine grain iodized sea salt produced from Aegean Sea in Çamaltı Saltworks located at İzmir, Turkey. | |
Dairy salt | Salt used in the preparation of dairy products, such as butter and cheese, either to add flavour or as a preservative. | ||
Dead Sea salt | Sea | Salt extracted or taken from the Dead Sea. | |
Egyptian frost salt | Rock | Crystalline salt that takes its name from its texture similar to frost. | |
Einville salt | Sea | Brine is pumped to the surface of a well from 200 meters below ground and evaporated to produce the salt. Production is by Salines d'Einville, located in Einville-au-Jard, in Lorraine, France. Pétales de sel resemble fleurs de sel. Activity began in 1871, renewed in 1988. [9] Similar to salt produced by the J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works in the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia and Maras salt from Peru. | |
Flake salt | A type of salt with flake-shaped crystals | ||
Fleur de sel | Sea | A hand-harvested sea salt, typically from France. | |
Garam Bledug Kuwu | Mud | A salt from mud volcano in Grobogan Regency. [10] | |
Garam nipah | Palm | A salt from Nypa fruticans in Jambi and Papua. [11] [12] | |
Garlic salt | Seasoned | Salt mixed with garlic powder. | |
Guerrero negro | Sea | One of the largest producers of salt in the world, producing evaporated sea salt from the Guerrero Negro, Mexico Salt pans. | |
Halite | Rock | The mineral term for rock salt. | |
Himalayan salt | Rock | A rock salt with a pink color, mined in Pakistan. | |
Ilocano Asin | Sea | Evaporated in salt ponds and hand harvested at Pangasinan province in the Philippines. Ilocano Asin is coarse, moist, and white. | |
Jukyeom | Seasoned | A Korean salt roasted in bamboo. Also known as "bamboo salt." | |
Kalahari Salt | Sea | From the Kalahari Desert salt pans. | |
Kala Namak | Rock | Kalo Nun or Kala namak is a kiln-fired rock salt used in South Asia with a sulphurous, pungent-smell. It is also known as "Himalayan black salt." | |
Kampot sea salt | Sea | Sea salt from coastal salt pans in the Kampot and Kep provinces of Cambodia. | |
Kanawha Valley salt | Sea | Produced by the J. Q. Dickenson Salt Works in Malden, West Virginia. [13] Brine is pumped to the surface from 300 feet below ground and evaporated to produce the salt. Similar to Einville salt and salt from Maras in Peru. | |
Khoisan salt pearls | Cyclic | South African salt formed by wind action across a salt pan. | |
Kitchen salt | A coarse salt that is used in cooking but not at the table. | ||
Korean salt | Has a larger grain-size compared to common kitchen salt. Also known as "Korean brining salt." | ||
Kosher salt | A large-grained, non-iodised salt. | ||
Lake Grassmere salt | Sea | Seawater, from the Pacific Ocean, is pumped into Lake Grassmere, New Zealand and evaporated. | |
Maldon Sea Salt | Sea | Sea salt flakes harvested in the River Blackwater, Essex, UK. [14] | |
Maras salt | Sea | Salt ponds are more commonly found on coastal plains, filled with seawater from the incoming tide. The ones in Peru are at an altitude of 3,000 metres. It’s a long way to the ocean, but it wasn’t always so; this impressive mountain range was once part the sea floor. The movement of tectonic plates pushed the seabed up to form the Andes. The sea salt was locked into the rocks and filters out through the Qoripujio spring, which is then routed to roughly 5,000 evap ponds staggered down the valley in terraces. | |
Mongolian lake salt | Sea | Evaporated from saline lakes in inner Mongolia. | |
Moshio salt | Seasoned | Dried seaweed that is boiled in sea water to form a brine which is then crystalized. | |
Murray River salt flakes | Sea | Salt from the Australian Murray River basin. Peach-coloured flake salt. The salt contains calcium and magnesium and has a relatively mild taste. | |
Namibian salt pearls | Cyclic | Formed naturally by the Berg wind as they tumble on the water's edge. | |
Netarts Bay, Oregon salt | Sea | Pure flake sea salt is harvested from Netarts Bay on the Oregon Coast by Jacobsen Salt Company, founded in 2011. [15] | |
Onion salt | Seasoned | Salt mixed with onion powder. | |
Persian blue salt | Rock | Extracted from a salt mine in the northern province of Semnan in Iran. The intriguing blue colour occurs during the forming of the salt’s crystalline structure, as intense pressure is exerted on the salt deposits. The individual crystals fracture the light in an unusual way and the resulting blue (which is caused by an optical illusion), becomes visible. | |
Pickling salt | A fine-grained, non-iodised salt used for pickling. | ||
River reed salt | A salt produced by burning river reeds from along the Nzoia River in Kenya. | ||
Sal de Tavira | Sea | A Portuguese sea salt extracted from salt pans on the Atlantic coast (PDO). [16] | |
Sale Marino di Trapani | Sea | An Italian sea salt extracted from the salt pans of Trapani, Paceco and Marsala (PGI). [17] | |
Sea salt | Sea | Generic term for salt derived from evaporation or reduction of salt water, typically sea water. Mineral content varies with locale and drying process. | |
Seasoned salt | Seasoned | Any salt which has been flavoured. | |
Sel gris | Sea | A French-style sea salt. It tends to be grey in color and somewhat moist. | |
Sel de Guérande | Sea | A French sea salt from the salt marshes of the Guérande Peninsula (PGI). [18] | |
Smoked salt | Seasoned | Flavor altered by type of wood used or length of smoke process | |
Sugpo Asin | Sea | A Filipino traditional artisanal salt. Sugpo Asin are hollow crystals that are ever-so-slightly-pink due to the shrimp that live in the salt beds from which this particular salt is harvested. It originates from Pangasinan, Philippines. | |
Tultul | Also known as "dukdok." A Filipino traditional artisanal sea salt made by burning waterlogged driftwood and plant matter. Seawater is then filtered through the ashes and the resulting brine is added to coconut milk and boiled until the water evaporates. It is sold in brick-like lumps. Used as seasoning by scraping over food. It originates from Guimaras island and Capiz, Philippines. | ||
Truffle salt | Seasoned | Any salt which has been flavoured with truffles. | |
Utah salt | Rock | From an underground salt deposit in Central Utah. The deposit was left there by an ancient sea that covered much of North America millions of years ago. | |
Yellowstone salt | Rock | From a subterranean deposit brought to the surface by spring water and evaporated. |
Salinity is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water. It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg.
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean. It can also come about through artificial processes such as irrigation and road salt.
Sodium chloride, commonly known as edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chlorine ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs as the mineral halite. In its edible form, it is commonly used as a condiment and food preservative. Large quantities of sodium chloride are used in many industrial processes, and it is a major source of sodium and chlorine compounds used as feedstocks for further chemical syntheses. Another major application of sodium chloride is deicing of roadways in sub-freezing weather.
Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea salt has been dated to prehistoric times.
Ammonium chloride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula NH4Cl, also written as [NH4]Cl. It is an ammonium salt of hydrogen chloride. It consists of ammonium cations [NH4]+ and chloride anions Cl−. It is a white crystalline salt that is highly soluble in water. Solutions of ammonium chloride are mildly acidic. In its naturally occurring mineralogic form, it is known as salammoniac. The mineral is commonly formed on burning coal dumps from condensation of coal-derived gases. It is also found around some types of volcanic vents. It is mainly used as fertilizer and a flavouring agent in some types of liquorice. It is a product of the reaction of hydrochloric acid and ammonia.
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes. In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water; such lakes can also be termed hypersaline lakes, and may also be pink lakes on account of their colour. An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake.
A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed through geologic processes, where evaporating water leaves behind salt deposits. Some salt evaporation ponds are only slightly modified from their natural version, such as the ponds on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, or the ponds in Jasiira, a few kilometres south of Mogadishu, where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.
Salt, also referred to as table salt or by its chemical formula NaCl, is an ionic compound made of sodium and chloride ions. All life depends on its chemical properties to survive. It has been used by humans for thousands of years, from food preservation to seasoning. Salt's ability to preserve food was a founding contributor to the development of civilization. It helped eliminate dependence on seasonal availability of food, and made it possible to transport food over large distances. However, salt was often difficult to obtain, so it was a highly valued trade item, and was considered a form of currency by many societies, including Rome. According to Pliny the Elder, Roman soldiers were paid in salt, from which the word salary is derived, although this is disputed by historians. Many salt roads, such as the Via Salaria in Italy, had been established by the Bronze Age.
Fleur de sel or flor de sal is a salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. Fleur de sel has been collected since ancient times, and was traditionally used as a purgative and salve. It is now used as a finishing salt to flavor and garnish food. The origin of the name is uncertain, but is perfectly in line with both meanings of fleur: the surface of something and its best part; the fact the salt crust also might form flower-like patterns of crystals might be of influence.
Guérande is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as Guérandais (masculine), and Guérandaise (feminine).
Alkali, or Alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH, a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate, which causes the soil to swell and difficult to clarify/settle. They derive their name from the alkali metal group of elements, to which sodium belongs, and which can induce basicity. Sometimes these soils are also referred to as alkaline sodic soils. Alkaline soils are basic, but not all basic soils are alkaline.
Bittern, or nigari, is the salt solution formed when halite precipitates from seawater or brines. Bitterns contain magnesium, calcium, and potassium ions as well as chloride, sulfate, iodide, and other ions.
A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing those of ocean water.
La Presqu’île de Guérande is an Atlantic destination located in the North-West of France, between the Loire estuary and the mouth of the Vilaine. It encompasses about 20 towns split up into two departments: Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique. This area is often called Guérande Peninsula, partly because of Guérande, a scenic town that triggers off images of a medieval town and the salt marshes.
Sel gris is a coarse granular sea salt popularized by the French. Sel gris comes from the same solar evaporation salt pans as fleur de sel but is harvested differently; it is allowed to come into contact with the bottom of the salt pan before being raked, hence its gray color. Sel gris is coarser than fleur de sel but is also a moist salt, typically containing 13 percent residual moisture.
The Côte d'Amour is a name given to part of the north western Atlantic coast of the Pays de la Loire region in France. It runs from Le Traict de Pen Bé to the mouth of the Loire in Saint-Nazaire, both of which are in the Loire-Atlantique department.
Krupuk (Javanese) is an Indonesian deep fried crackers made from starch and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. They are a popular snack in parts of Southeast Asia, but most closely associated with Indonesia. Kroepoek also can be found in the Netherlands, through their historic colonial ties with Indonesia.
Asín tibuók is a rare Filipino artisanal sea salt from the Boholano people made from filtering seawater through ashes. A related artisanal salt is known as túltul or dúkdok among the Ilonggo people. It is made similarly to asín tibuók but is boiled with gatâ.
The Groupe Salins, whose main component is the Compagnie des Salins du Midi et des Salines de l'Est, is one of the leading salt producers in Europe. It is exclusively dedicated to the production and marketing of salt.
Halen Môn is a salt-producing company in Anglesey, Wales on the bank of the Menai Strait. Its sea salt, a fleur de sel, has been given Protected Designation of Origin status. It was founded in 1997 by Alison and David Lea-Wilson, who also started the Anglesey Sea Zoo.