Urban Legends & Myths

Here are the common myths and urban legends about salt and food.
Opinion by JOE O'CONNELL

Myth: Salt meat before cooking

As a general rule, in my opinion, salting meat before cooking it is not a good idea. Salting meat after it is cooked helps the flavor. But salt draws moisture out of the surface of the meat. If salt is left on the surface of meat for a significant period of time, the salt will dehydrate the meat. Usually, this is not a good idea before cooking meat.

There are exceptions. If the meat is going to be cooked quickly (like a grilled steak) and if the salt is added just before cooking, then the salt will neither help nor hurt the meat (i.e. there will be no noticeable difference in the outcome). There is too short a period of time for the salt to dehydrate the surface of the meat. Nevertheless, although this will not hurt the meat, the salt will not help it.

Another exception is for the preservation of meat. Salting acts to dehydrate both the meat and the bacteria on the meat. As a result, the meat dries, and spoilage (rotting) is retarded.

For barbecue, the addition of salt (or any other sodium, like MSG) to a rub or marinade before cooking will affect the meat by dehydrating the meat's surface. Sometimes, this is desirable, because the texture of the surface will be very different from the texture of the interior -- as with burnt ends of beef brisket and the bark of pork shoulder. I think that many barbecue meats are too dry because of the addition of the salt to the outside of the meat.

Why is this urban legend so popular? Probably because few cooks have conducted controlled experiments (blind-taste tests) of their rub or marinade recipes so that they can compare the results and determine the difference. The major problem is that barbecue cooks rarely conduct a controlled test. The best rule: add salt to raw vegetables (which typically are not cooked slowly, and do not lose moisture) and add salt to cooked meat.

Myth: Adding salt to boiling water speeds the cooking time

Adding salt to boiling water to speed cooking time is a myth. It is often said that adding salt to boiling water will increase the boiling point of water and thus speed the cooking time. To be extremely precise: the addition of salt does increase the boiling temperature and thus decrease the cooking time, but the changes are miniscule: much too small to be noticeable or significant. In other words: nice theory, but wrong on a practical level.

Adding salt may add saltiness to the food, but it will not change the cooking time. More information is on the Bad Chemistry website.

Myths: Kosher salt is kosher, comes from the Dead Sea, is blessed by a rabbi, and contains no additives

Kosher salt (1) is kosher; (2) comes from the Dead Sea; (3) is blessed by a Rabbi; and (4) contains no additives. All are false. Kosher salt refers to any coarse-grain salt that is used to make meat kosher. Kosher salt usually is mineral salt, which may mined anywhere. A rabbi does not "bless" the salt to make it kosher (although Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt in the past has claimed to be packaged under Rabbinical supervision). As with any other salt, some commercial Kosher salt (like Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt) uses anti-caking additives to make it free-flowing. Kosher salt is usually free from iodine additives.

Myth: One part of table salt equals two parts of kosher salt

It is only half-correct that one part of table salt equals two parts of kosher salt. It depends on how the salt is used.

Not all kosher salts weigh the same. For example, ordinary table salt weighs 10 oz. per cup; Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt weighs 7.7 oz. per cup; and Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt weighs 5 oz. per cup. (The difference is explained because of the differing sizes of the kosher salt grains.) One grain of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is much larger than one grain of table salt.

If the kosher salt is going to be used in cooking, then the same amount by weight should be used. Why? Because salt is soluble, so its original form (as kosher or table salt) is unimportant in the final recipe. In general, substitute twice as much Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt for table salt, but substitute only 1 1/3 measures of Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt for one measure of table salt.

However, if the salt is to be added to a finished dish, then twice as much kosher salt is needed to equal the "saltiness taste" of one part of table salt. Why? Because the surface area of one grain of kosher salt is much less than the same weight (and more grains) of table salt. Thus, on the tongue, a teaspoon of table salt tastes "saltier" than a teaspoon of kosher salt.

Surface area of salt

The surface area of Kosher salt is much less than the surface area of an equal amount (by weight) of table salt. Here's the reason.

Assume that a single grain of Kosher salt is a perfect cube which is 4x4x4. Basic geometry shows that the interior area of the grain is 4^3, or 64. However, its surface area of the cube is 96 -- the area of each surface is 16, and there are 6 surfaces.

However, assume that a single grain of table salt is 1/8 the size of a grain of Kosher salt, so that a single grain of table salt is a perfect cube that is 2x2x2. Basic geometry shows that interior area of each grain is 2^3, or 8. The total interior areas of 8 grains of table salt is 64, which is the same as one grain of Kosher salt. However, the surface area of each grain of table salt is 24 (6 surfaces of 2x2 each), and, since there are 8 grains of table salt that weigh the same (in this example) as one grain of Kosher salt, the surface area of eight grains of table salt equals 192 (24 x 8).

In this example, a grain of Kosher salt has a surface area of 96, while the same weight in table salt has a surface area of 192. The result: because the human tongue interacts with the surface of the salt grains, the table salt seems to be twice as salty as the same amount of Kosher salt.

But, to demonstrate the proof: compare a dish sprinkled with one gram of Kosher salt with the same dish sprinkled with one gram of table salt. The latter will taste twice as salty as the former, because the surface areas are different. However, if the gram of Kosher salt is run through a food processor to reduce the size of the salt grains to the table salt size, the two salts will taste exactly the same because they are exactly the same.

Salt: A World History

From
Salt : A World History
by Mark Kurlansky

Most American salt is rock salt, but in most of the world, the salt is sea salt. In the United States, there's only one commercial-free salt place left and that's in San Francisco Bay.

Mark Kurlansky, author of the book Salt: A World History, says salt has been tremendously important to the development of trade.

Before the age of refrigeration, so before the 20th century, the only way of preserving food was in salt. So salt was the only way to take an item of food and turn it into a commodity of international trade. You could have a dairy farm and you could produce milk and butter, but you could only sell it to your neighbors or it would spoil if you took it any further than that. You could salt it into cheese and you could sell that cheese around the world and that was the basis of the economy of most nations for a very long time.

And salt has played a role in politics and world affairs.

One consistent pattern is governments that try to raise revenues by taxing salt usually ended up in political disaster. The French Revolution, for example. One of the burning issues in 18th century France was the taxation system of salt. It was also one of the major issues of the Indian independence movement.

More Salt Facts & Lore

• There is enough salt in the ocean to cover the continents 500 feet deep.
• Up until the 16th century, it wasn't uncommon for convicted criminals to be sentenced to life sentences in European salt mines.
• One of the most secure storage facilities in the world is in a hollowed-out salt deposit 650 feet under Hutchinson, Kansas. Supposedly even the original negative of "Gone With The Wind" is there.
• In the 1920s, iodine was added to American table salt to help prevent hypothyroidism, which was near epidemic levels at the time. Today, it is nearly nonexistent.
• During the Renaissance, salt storage boxes or "cellars", crafted for wealthy tables, were often fashioned from gold and jewels.
• 75% of the sodium we consume is in the form of processed foods.
• English towns that were once salt centers have "wich" in their names (Norwich, Greenwich). In Germany and Austria salz or hall are used.
• The Chinese were pumping brine from wells before the time of Christ. They even devised bamboo pipelines to transport it to the boiling facility.
• Many American frontiersmen, including Daniel Boone, were taught how to make salt by Native Americans.
• Some of the first American ad campaigns were for the many salt companies that popped up at the close of the 19th century.
• During the Middle Ages, salt was used as a symbol of purity not only because it could preserve things, but because it was often the whitest thing around.
• Number of crystals in a pound of table salt: 5,370,000. Number of crystals in a pound of kosher salt: 1,370,000…give or take a crystal or two.
• Some of the oldest roads still in use in Europe and Africa were originally built to move salt.
• To make homemade play dough, mix 1/2 cup of salt with 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup of water.
• The majority of salt produced in the United States is used to keep winter roads ice-free.

Food for Thought

The sea contains an estimated 40 million, billion tonnes of salt; If the world's oceans evaporated, enough salt would be crystallised to cover Britain to a depth of 50 miles;
Grass scattered with rock salt is more appetising for beef cattle. They eat more and gain weight; Rock salt is used to fertilise soil with sodium, which makes sugar beet yield more sugar;


Salt is used to removed traces of water from aviation fuel after it is purified;

Being hygroscopic, salt spread on dusty floors in equestrian centres and indoor arenas retains moisture and keeps down dust;

Until relatively recently, salt bars were the standard currency of Ethiopia and cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, could be used as money in countries as far apart as Tibet and Borneo;

In ancient Greece, slaves were traded for salt- hence the expression 'not worth his salt';

In his painting 'The Last Supper', Leonardo da Vinci put an overturned salt cellar in front of the ill-fated Judas;

Total annual world-wide salt production is equivalent to the amount contained in two cubic miles of sea water. Now, that's a lot of water!

Contrary Salt!

It comes from water, but it makes you thirsty

It corrodes metal, but preserves your food

It is hard, yet softens water

It’s a mineral, and yet you eat it!

Superstitions

Salt has been thought of as a powerful magical substance.

Spilling salt was an unlucky omen. Even today, some people throw salt over their left shoulder (into the eyes of the devil) after spilling some, to cancel the ‘bad luck’.

It was also thought to be unlucky to help anyone to salt. An old phrase says "Help me to salt, help me to sorrow'.

Superstitious sailors would not mention salt whilst at sea, and would never throw it overboard.

In old Japanese theatres, salt was sprinkled on to the stage before each performance to prevent evil spirits from casting a spell on the actors and ruining the play.

On a happier note, it is customary in some countries to greet newlyweds with gifts of salt and bread, instead of throwing confetti.

In Arab countries salt was used to seal a bargain, and also as a sign of friendship, If you ate another man's salt, you could not harm him in any way whilst in his home, and he would not harm you.

The Druids used salt in their rituals at Stonehenge. It is thought that this was as a symbol of the life-giving fruits of the earth.

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