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Salt, Sea salt, and ATOT

C

Craig234

Lifer
So, I remembered hearing, 'salt is salt', and considered, is all this 'sea salt' a marketing hype lie? Is sea salt gathered from the remote ocean by virgins under a full moon any better than simply salt?

And violating the spirit of ATOT, perhaps, I decided to google instead of discuss here.

But that's not the remarkable part. That is that what google showed, was an ATOT thread from 12 years ago, "'Sea Salt' the next great marketing gimmick".

'Sea salt' the next great marketing gimmick

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Healthwise: salt is salt. In general, anything in there is a trace amount (minerals) of something you use very little of (salt). So the contaminants are just too low in quantity to do much of anything. The exception is if you only need a very, very small amount and it is purposely added (such as iodine).

Tastewise: salt is not salt. Grain size and shape (surface area) means everything.
 
dullard said:
Tastewise: salt is not salt. Grain size and shape (surface area) means everything.
Click to expand...

"Size and shape" isn't really a "taste". It could affect taste as 'more' or 'less', but it's not taste. Leaving open the question, is the taste actually different? I didn't read google after seeing the ATOT thread.
 
Craig234 said:
"Size and shape" isn't really a "taste". It could affect taste as 'more' or 'less', but it's not taste. Leaving open the question, is the taste actually different? I didn't read google after seeing the ATOT thread.
Click to expand...
Okay, call it "mouthfeel" then, or "texture".
 
Read a little more. Saw another marketing scam?, "Organic salt". Here's what one post had to say:

Here is a quick, mini guide to salt, based off my extensive research on the topic:

  • Pink Himalayan crystal salt is very very good for you in small quantities. This is the best salt available.
  • Redmond Real Salt is one step below Himalayan crystal salt, but still really good for you.
  • Celtic Grey Salt is sort of good for you, but definitely not the best.
  • Regular white table salt, which is found in most homes and restaurants, whether it is iodized or not, is a toxic poison.
  • The term “Sea Salt” is just a marketing gimmick. All salt comes from the sea at one point. Most salt labeled as such is a toxic poison. Some verities have readeaming qualities, but you would have to reasearch it.
  • There are other salt varieties available that are good for you, I just don’t know their names. If you’re not sure whether a particular brand or type of salt is good for you, just assume that it is not. There are not very many brands or varieties of salt on the market that are good for you. Most are not.
Click to expand...
 
Mined salt is sea salt deposited before people fouled the seas.
"Sea salt" is salt derived from modern, polluted sea water.

"Due mainly to marketing costs, pink Himalayan salt is up to 20 times more expensive than table salt or sea salt."
en.wikipedia.org

Himalayan salt - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
en.wikipedia.org

Sea salt - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

any health claims are likely false, as there isn't a significant difference in salt compositions, and the amount of intake shouldn't be high enough to matter in a normal diet.
Sea salt, however can apparently introduce spores from fungi that are heat stable and thus contribute to food spoilage.

edit: doh ironwing beat me with that himalayan salt wikipedia link D:
 
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Craig234 said:
"Size and shape" isn't really a "taste". It could affect taste as 'more' or 'less', but it's not taste. Leaving open the question, is the taste actually different? I didn't read google after seeing the ATOT thread.
Click to expand...
Size and shape definitely plays a role in taste. Texture is very important. Take banana for example. Eat it in fruit form and also as a liquid by blending it. Liquid form is going to taste like banana but it's going to taste different because it's in liquid form instead of solid. It's why people use finishing salt. The salt you add at the end will give you different taste from salt added in the beginning.
 
Craig234 said:
"Size and shape" isn't really a "taste". It could affect taste as 'more' or 'less', but it's not taste. Leaving open the question, is the taste actually different? I didn't read google after seeing the ATOT thread.
Click to expand...
Try eating pretzels (or french fries or something similar) with the same mass of salt stuck to the pretzel:
(Option A) A lot of fine grained salt powder.
(Option B) A few large grains of pretzel salt.
They will taste completely different, even though they are the same mass of the same chemical. To be extra careful, grind the pretzel salt into fine grained salt powder so you are guaranteed that they are the same chemical. They still will taste night and day different.
 
ponyo said:
Size and shape definitely plays a role in taste. Texture is very important. Take banana for example. Eat it in fruit form and also as a liquid by blending it. Liquid form is going to taste like banana but it's going to taste different because it's in liquid form instead of solid. It's why people use finishing salt. The salt you add at the end will give you different taste from salt added in the beginning.
Click to expand...

We're getting into some subtleties of the word flavor. I'm not exactly disagreeing with you that it's more than just the same taste, but I'm not comfortable simply labelling texture taste, either. But the basic question about sea salt versus other salt if both had the same shape/size, seems to be the same taste.
 
Craig234 said:
We're getting into some subtleties of the word flavor. I'm not exactly disagreeing with you that it's more than just the same taste, but I'm not comfortable simply labelling texture taste, either. But the basic question about sea salt versus other salt if both had the same shape/size, seems to be the same taste.
Click to expand...
Even if it had the same shape/size, sea salt can taste different from different regions of the world. And amount of moisture in sea salt can make difference too. Lot of subtle stuff most people won't care about but some people do.
 
highland145 said:
90 cent store brand. Layer the ice/salt and stir it around while running the churn. Done 25 min later. 7th grade chemistry project.

Now, the pinky dip makes the difference.

😉
Click to expand...

that's great and all, but if you keep doing things like you did them in 7th grade, you'll never get better.

Take me and my 3rd grade Hydroponics project...see, if I kept growing shit-ass soybeans like that, I would never have the glorious weed like I do now!
 
zinfamous said:
that's great and all, but if you keep doing things like you did them in 7th grade, you'll never get better.

Take me and my 3rd grade Hydroponics project...see, if I kept growing shit-ass soybeans like that, I would never have the glorious weed like I do now!
Click to expand...
Mayne lite?

😨
 
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