Sea salt 231065 226159125 2008-07-17T02:24:04Z Montco 882433 /* Other uses */ -linkspam {{Unreferenced|date=May 2007}} [[Image:Sea salt-e hg.png|thumb|300px||Chemical composition of sea salt]] [[Image:MaraisSalant.JPG|thumb|150px|Sea salt harvest in [[Île de Ré]], France.]] <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:CaymanIslands.JPG|thumb|250px|Sea salt farm, [[Grand Cayman]].]] --> '''Sea salt''', obtained by evaporating [[seawater]], is used in [[cooking]] and [[cosmetics]]. Historically called bay salt,<ref>{{cite web | url= http://books.google.com/books?id=H6wAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA12 | last= Brownrigg | first= William | year= 1748 | title= ''The Art of Making Common Salt, as Now Practised in Most Parts of the World'' |publisher= | pages= p.&nbsp;12 | accessdate= }} Retrieved 11/2007 from [[Google Book Search]]</ref> its mineral content gives it a different taste<ref>[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea-salt/AN01142 Sea salt: Is it better for you than regular salt? - MayoClinic.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> from [[table salt]], which is pure [[sodium chloride]], usually refined from mined rock salt ([[halite]]) or from sea salt. Areas that produce specialized sea salt include the [[Cayman Islands]], [[Greece]], [[France]], [[Ireland]], [[Colombia]], [[Sicily]], [[Apulia]] in [[Italy]], and [[Hawaii]],<ref> [http://www.hawaiikaico.com/ Gourmet Sea Salt from Hawaii Kai Corporation<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Maine]], Utah, the San Francisco Bay, and [[Cape Cod]] in the [[United States]]. Generally more expensive than table salt, it is commonly used in gourmet cooking and premium [[potato chip]]s. ==History== In ancient times, sea salt was traded by nomads across the [[Sahara]] and across [[Asia]]. Transported along the [[Trans-Saharan_trade|trans-saharan route]] and the [[Silk road]], sea salt was a key trading item and was higly prized. <ref>[http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_HistoryOfSalt.asp Sea salt being traded in the sahara]</ref><ref>[http://www.unep.org/Geo/gdoutlook/052.asp Sea salt traded along trade routes]</ref> Where [[Halite|mineral salt]] has been readily obtainable it has long been [[Salt mine|mined]]. The salt mines of [[Hallstatt]] go back at least to the [[Iron Age]]. However, it has not been readily obtainable everywhere and the alternative coastal source has also been exploited for thousands of years. The principle of the production is the evaporation of the water from the [[brine]] of the sea. In warm and dry climates this may be done entirely by solar energy, but in other climates fuel must be used. For this reason, sea salt production is now almost entirely an industry of [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] and other warm, dry climates. [[Image:FleurDeSel.JPG|thumb|right|150px|"[[Fleur de sel]]" sea salt, Île de Ré.]] Such places are today called salt works, instead than the older English word [[saltern]]. An ancient or medieval saltern could be established where there was: # Access to a market for the salt. # A gently-shelving coast, protected from exposure to the open sea. # A cheap and easily worked fuel supply; preferably, the sun. # Preferably, another trade such as [[pastoral farming]] and [[tanning]] so that it and the salt could each add value to the other in the form of leather or salted meat. In this way, [[salt marsh]], [[pasture]] (salting), and salt works (saltern) enhanced each other economically. This was the economic pattern in the Roman and Medieval periods around [[The Wash]], in eastern [[England]]. There, the [[tide]] brought the brine, the extensive saltings provided the pasture, the [[fen]]s and [[Bog|moors]] provided the [[peat]] fuel, and the sun sometimes shone. [[Image:Salt collector in Lake Retba.jpg|thumb|150px|Manual salt collection in [[Lake Retba]], [[Senegal]].]] The dilute brine of the sea was largely evaporated by the sun, and the concentrated slurry of salt and mud was scraped up. The slurry was washed with clean sea water so that the impurities settled out of the now concentrated brine. This was poured into shallow pans lightly baked from the local marine [[clay]], which were set on fist-sized clay pillars over a peat fire for the final evaporation. The dried salt was then scraped out and sold. ==Taste and health== [[Image:Seasalt.jpg|thumb|150px|A commercial pack of sea salt]] Gourmets often believe sea salt to be better than ordinary table salt in taste and texture, though one cannot always taste the difference when dissolved. In applications where sea salt's coarser texture is retained, it can provide different [[mouthfeel]] and changes in flavor due to its different rate of [[solvation|dissolution]]. The mineral content also affects the taste. It may be difficult to distinguish sea salt from other salts with a high mineral content, such as pink [[Himalayan salt]], or grey colored [[rock salt]]. Because sea salt generally lacks high concentrations of [[iodine]],<ref>[http://www.saltinstitute.org/iodine-seasalt.html Iodine in non-iodized sea salt<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> an element [[Essential nutrient|essential for human health]],<ref>Fisher, Peter W. F. and Mary L'Abbe. 1980. Iodine in Iodized Table Salt and in Sea Salt. ''Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technolo. J.'' Vol. 13. No. 2:103–104. April</ref> it is not necessarily a healthful substitute for regular iodized table salt,<ref>[http://www.saltinstitute.org/idd.html Iodized Salt in the United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> which is usually supplemented with the element, unless another source of dietary iodine is available (such as dairy products or regular processed foods).<ref>[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea-salt/AN01142 Sea salt: Is it better for you than regular salt? - MayoClinic.com]</ref> Iodized forms of sea salt are now marketed to address this concern. However, unrefined sea salt contains many minerals that regular iodized table salt does not contain, such as [[calcium]], [[potassium]], [[magnesium]], [[sulfate]], and traces of others (including heavy metals such as [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[lead]], and [[cadmium]], as well as [[strontium]]). ==Other uses== {{seealso|Bath salts}} [[Image:Saltmill.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A salt mill for sea salt.]] Aside from [[Cosmetics|cosmetic]] and [[gourmet]] use, sea salts are also used as a main ingredient in the production of [[bath salts]]. These are used as bathing additives and are believed by some to possess therapeutic and healing properties. Sea salts that are used in the production of [[bath salts]] are not just taken from any body of water. Some of the common properties of the location in which they are extracted are age, seclusion from human intervention, and [[mineral]] content. Common bodies of water in which these salts are extracted include the waters of the [[Himalayas]], the [[Dead Sea]], [[Pacific Ocean]], [[Mediterranean Sea]], and Utah's [[Great Salt Lake]]. ==See also== *[[Edible salt]] *[[Sodium chloride]] *[[History of salt]] *[[Salt pan (evaporation)|Salt Pan]] *[[Salt evaporation pond]] *[[Bath salts]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Chemical oceanography]] [[Category:Edible salt]] [[de:Meersalz]] [[es:Sal marina]] [[nl:Zeezout]] [[pt:Sal marinho]] [[fi:Merisuola]] [[zh:食用海盐]]