[CH] Table Salt a Residue?
George Nelson (70431.3065@compuserve.com)
Sat, 22 Apr 2000 11:45:59 -0400
It was written: " most table 'salt' is actually the residue of chemical
processing."
Most emphatically incorrect!
Table salt is the result of purification by crystallization. Some brands
have a little (0.1 to 1.0 percent by weight) aluminosilicate is added to
prevent caking. Other than that, it is basically pure NaCl and can be used
"in a pinch" in place of the reagent grade by chemists.
Sea salt may have traces of other minerals (probably less than a percent
total) in it that do add complexity to its ability for flavoring, but in
the amounts added to food probably have little detectable effect. Sea salt
is made in salinas where the calcium and magnesium salts precipitate first
and the NaCl-enriched brine is pumped off for further evaporation and
crystallization.
George Nelson