[xoxoxoBruce]

Not the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty or Slightly Alarming Lesion Testing, Salt, the mineral for popcorn.
Salt is common, so easy to get, and so cheap, it’s easy to forget before a hundred years ago it was one of the most wanted
and valuable commodities on earth. If De Beers hadn’t stepped in diamonds would have followed salt down.

There are three basic types of culinary salt: table, kosher, and sea salt.
Table salt is crystallized into tiny cubes and often contains additives like potassium iodide and anticaking agents.
Kosher salt is coarser and larger than table salt and was originally produced for the purposes of koshering meat under
rabbinical supervision. Its irregular texture helps it cling to meat.
Sea salt, which comes in a range of colors and textures, is made from seawater. It is often the largest, flakiest salt,
containing the largest percentage of minerals and is best used as a finishing salt, sprinkled onto food just before serving.

Table Salt at 3.2x magnification.

The Salt That We Cook With
For most of us the term salt is synonymous with sodium chloride, but from a chemistry perspective, salt is a much broader
term. Salts are ionic compounds that are electrically neutral—containing an equal number of positively and negatively
charged ions. They are formed from the reaction of an acid and a base. A few other salts of interest include:
Sodium bicarbonate: The ubiquitous chemical baking leavener more commonly known as baking soda.
Lead acetate: A slightly sweet salt found in lead paint and responsible for lead poisoning.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG): The salt form of glutamic acid, MSG provides the savory taste known as umami.
Magnesium sulfate: Formed from the chemical reaction between magnesium hydroxide and sulfuric acid; better known as
Epsom salts and often used as a laxative.
Sodium citrate: Sodium citrate is a melting salt—a white powder that facilitates the melting of old cheeses. It makes possible
marvelous melters like Velveeta and American cheese.

Hey that was a quote, “marvelous melters” is their words, not mine.

Kosher Salt at 3.2x magnification.

In its pure form, all NaCl tastes the same, no matter where it comes from. And salt can come from two sources: seawater
and underground deposits formed when ancient oceans dried up. What separates one salt from another in terms of flavor
are the amount and variety of minerals (such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium) embedded in the sodium chloride.
Sea salt may also contain marine bacteria. Salt’s size and texture, from perfect cubes to pyramid-shaped flakes, are
determined by the method of processing.

In other words salt is salt, and stuff labeled salt that tastes different is contaminated with other stuff. Not alarming, but not pure salt.

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