Salt, a primary ingredient since prehistoric times, is the oldest and perhaps most widely known and used seasoning in gastronomy and kitchens around the world. For centuries, it was the most precious of all foodstuffs and an irreplaceable preservative. Historical documents mention the use of salt in the earliest stable civilizations B.C., such as the Sumerian, Egyptian, Hittite, Hebrew, and Chinese.

Called the “divine substance” by Homer and known to the Romans as “white gold” due to its rarity and high cost, salt has always played a fundamental role not only in nutrition but also in economic and social relations between different cultures and countries. It gave its name to the “Via Salaria”, the road that connected the saltworks of Ostia to the mouth of the Tiber—who doesn't know it? It also gave rise to the word salary since in ancient Rome, salt was even given to legionaries as compensation for their work! And who hasn't heard the saying “to have salt in your head,” meaning wisdom, judgment, and intelligence? Jesus himself said in the Gospels: “You are the salt of the earth.”

Salt is a chemical compound composed of a lattice of ions held together by strong ionic bonds, commonly known as sodium chloride (NaCl), made up of 40% sodium and 60% chlorine.

How Salt is Obtained

  • Sea Salt: The traditional raw material for salt production is seawater, evaporated by the combined effect of sun and wind. The water is collected in special sealed basins called “salt pans”, and—through a series of subsequent processes—crystals settle at the bottom and are harvested once they reach a certain size. In other words, salt is not produced, it is harvested!
  • Rock Salt: Without resorting to solar salt pans, salt can be extracted from ancient underground deposits. In Italy, for example, much of this salt comes from a natural 6-million-year-old deposit in Sicily, the result of a long process of spontaneous crystallization formed when seas were still pristine—unlike many seas today, whose water quality no longer meets the nutritional guidelines of a healthy diet (presence of microplastics in the seas means that among the mineral trace elements found in salt, we may also find micro amounts of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and so on).

Health Effects

Medically, sodium chloride, being an electrical conductor, enables the transmission of sensory impulses throughout the nervous system and supports muscular functions. It regulates blood pressure and fluid exchange within the body.

Another property of salt is its antibacterial and purifying function.

However, excessive consumption can cause hypertension, osteoporosis, water retention, and other health problems.

Types to Know

  • Unrefined Rock Salt: Natural and rich in trace elements.
  • Iodized Salt: In the early 2000s, Italy passed Law No. 55 of 21/03/2005 to promote the consumption of iodized salt. It helps prevent thyroid and other iodine deficiency disorders, as recommended by the World Health Organization. It can be used in all fresh foods (salads, etc.) but is ineffective when the food is cooked since iodine, being volatile, photosensitive, and thermally unstable, does not remain in the final dish.
  • Protected Iodized Salt: This is iodized salt developed through collaboration between a national company and an Italian university. It avoids iodine degradation, ensuring a constant iodine content even after cooking with minimal loss. For this reason, reading food labels carefully is essential, as only the presence of protected iodized salt allows the package to claim “Source of iodine.”
  • Low-Sodium Salt: Generally used as a substitute for regular salt, where part of the sodium chloride is replaced with minerals based on magnesium and potassium. For people with kidney disease or diabetes, its intake must be evaluated due to the potassium content that may need to be eliminated.

Salt in Baking

It is used at about 2% of the flour weight and helps to:

  • strengthen the gluten network in bread;
  • slow down fermentation;
  • enhance browning during baking.

Other Uses of Salt

Only a small portion of salt production is intended for human consumption; the rest is used in other sectors, such as:

  • fixing dyes in textile dyeing;
  • leather tanning;
  • producing detergents;
  • water treatment;
  • refineries and glassworks;
  • de-icing roads in winter.

Special Salts Around the World

Interestingly, many types of special salts exist worldwide, often known for their unique colors due to the presence of natural substances other than sodium chloride. Here are some of the most popular:

  • HIMALAYAN PINK SALT (fossil salt, colored by iron)
  • SWEET SALT OF UTAH (slightly sweet American rock salt)
  • BLUE SALT OF PERSIA (contains blue mineral silvite)
  • ALAEA RED SALT (colored by red clay)
  • HAWAIIAN BLACK SALT (from volcanic lava)
  • GREY SALT OF BRITTANY (colored by its clay content)
  • CYPRUS BLACK SALT (with added activated charcoal)