Chemical composition of sea salt

Sea salt harvest in Île de Ré, France.

Sea salt, obtained by evaporating seawater, is used in cooking and cosmetics. Its mineral content gives it a different taste 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, France, Ireland, Colombia, Sicily, Apulia in Italy, Maine and Cape Cod in the United States.^{[citation needed]} Generally more expensive than table salt, it is commonly used in gourmet cooking and premium potato chips.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Sea_salt-e_hg. ... Image File history File links Sea_salt-e_hg. ... Image File history File links Personal photograph 2005, released under GDFL. File links The following pages link to this file: ÃŽle de Ré Sea salt ... Image File history File links Personal photograph 2005, released under GDFL. File links The following pages link to this file: ÃŽle de Ré Sea salt ... The quays at Saint Martin en Ré. ÃŽle de Ré (formerly also ÃŽle de Rhé; in English Isle of Rhé) is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis dAntioche strait. ... Annual mean sea surface temperature for the World Ocean. ... Edible salt is a mineral, one of the few rocks people eat. ... This articles section called Other facts does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, NaCl, commonly known as rock salt. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... This article is about the Italian region. ... Official language(s) None (English de facto; French is also an administrative language) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Cape Cod (or simply the Cape) is an arm-shaped peninsula coextensive with Barnstable County, Massachusetts and forming the easternmost portion of the Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. ... For the quality of being crisp, see Crispiness. ...

History

Where mineral salt has been readily obtainable it has long been mined. The salt mines of Hallstatt go back at least to the Iron Age.^{[citation needed]} However, it has not been readily obtainable everywhere and the alternative coastal source has also been exploited for thousands of years.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} For this reason, sea salt production is now almost entirely an industry of Mediterranean and other warm, dry climates.^{[citation needed]} Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, NaCl, commonly known as rock salt. ... A salt mine is an operation involved in the extraction of salt. ... Hallstatt (), Upper Austria is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Brine is water saturated or nearly saturated with salt. ...

The name normally used today for such places is salt works but the older English word is saltern. An ancient or medieval saltern could be established where there was:^{[citation needed]}

"Fleur de sel" sea salt, Île de Ré.

• 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.^{[citation needed]} This was the economic pattern in the Roman and Medieval periods around The Wash, in eastern England.^{[citation needed]} There, the tide brought the brine, the extensive saltings provided the pasture, the fens and moors provided the peat fuel and the sun sometimes shone.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Fleur de Sel sea salt. ... Image File history File links Fleur de Sel sea salt. ... Fleur de sel (Flower of salt in French) is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans. ... Pastoral farming (also known as grazing in some parts of the world) is farming related to livestock rather than growing crops and other foliage. ... Tanning is the process of conversion of putrescible skin into non putrescible leather. ... An Atlantic coastal salt marsh in Connecticut. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... The Wash, as seen looking west from Heacham, Norfolk The Wash is also the name of a 2001 film. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... It has been suggested that Theory of tides be merged into this article or section. ... A fen is a sere, a phase in the natural ecological succession from the open water of a lake to (for example) woodland. ... Lütt-Witt Moor, a bog in Henstedt-Ulzburg in northern Germany. ... Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. ...

The dilute brine of the sea was largely evaporated by the sun and concentrated slurry of salt, sand and mud scraped up.^{[citation needed]} The slurry was washed with clean sea water so that the impurities settled out of the now concentrated brine.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} The dried salt was scraped out and sold. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ...

Taste and health

A salt mill for sea salt.

Gourmands often believe sea salt to be superior to ordinary table salt in taste and texture,^{[citation needed]} though one cannot always taste the difference when dissolved.^{[citation needed]} 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 dissolution. The mineral content also affects the taste.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File linksMetadata Saltmill. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Saltmill. ... In many areas related to the testing and evaluating of foodstuffs,such as wine-tasting and rheology, mouthfeel is a product’s physical and chemical interaction in the mouth from initial perception on the palate, to first bite, through mastication to swallowing. ... Dissolution or dissolve can have the following meanings: to crumble into a liquid. ... Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with formula NaCl. ...

Because sea salt is not high in iodine, an ion essential for human health ^[1], it is not necessarily a healthy substitute for iodized table salt, which is supplemented with the element, unless another source of dietary iodine is available. Iodized forms of sea salt are now marketed to address this concern. General Name, Symbol, Number iodine, I, 53 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 5, p Appearance violet-dark gray, lustrous Standard atomic weight 126. ...

Other uses

Sea salt can also be used (in solution) as a hair product. It is sprayed lightly into the hair creating a tousled, messy texture and is often used in creating larger, more adventurous styles.^{[citation needed]} Just add water, and scrunch.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Edible salt
• Sodium chloride
• History of salt
• Salt Pan
• Salt evaporation pond

Edible salt is mostly sodium chloride (NaCl). ... This articles section called Other facts does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Naturally formed salt crystals with a U.S. penny for size reference (19. ... Contemporary salt pans on the island of Lanzarote. ... San Francisco Bay salt ponds Salt evaporation pond in Ile de Ré, France. ...

References

1. ^ 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