In the Italian culture it is said “having the salt in one's head” or “the salt of life”. Two sayings which let us understand the importance of salt in human culture and society. The fundamental tastes traditionally recognized are four - sweet, salty, sour and bitter - and in recent times it was also added a fifth one, called “umami”. The tongue has a series of gustatory receptors - also known as taste buds - specialized in perceiving fundamental tastes and the ones located at the sides of the tongue seem to be particularly sensitive to salty taste, and - as soon as it is being perceived - it originates a sensation of sapidity while exalting the taste of foods.

 Most of chlorides are noxious or laxative and they frequently have a slightly bitter taste. Sodium chloride - which chemical formula is NaCl - is responsible of salty taste, it is one of the fundamental minerals for animal's life and it is available in nature in huge quantities dissolved in sea water. The ones who are lucky to travel to Himalaya - in particular in Tibet - can see goats carrying bags of salts on their backs. Even in Africa can be seen caravans of dromedaries which from the northern part of Ténéré desert go to Sahel and transport salt, then go back to their original places loaded with goods and foods, exchanged in the crowded and colored African markets. History taught us the importance of salt was so high it was used as a money for the trading of goods. Not only humans are attracted by salt: animals walk long distances in order to go to those places in which it is possible to lick salt.

Salt-works in Ténéré Desert (Niger)

 The daily intake of salt in an adult subject is usually of 9 grams, of which only about one gram is naturally found in foods, whereas the rest is added during the preparation of recipes. Sodium plays an important role in human body and in normal conditions the consumption of salt should not exceed six grams a day, corresponding to 2-4 grams of sodium. An excessive consumption of salt, and therefore of sodium, in some subjects can be cause of hypertension. It should be remembered salt is naturally present in all foods, although in modest quantities, of course. Besides the salt added in the cooking of foods, it should also be considered the one used by the food industry as a preservative and for the exaltation of tastes.

 Sodium is mainly obtained by sodium chloride, the common kitchen salt. In our body there is a system regulating the sodium intake and which is governed by a hormone, the aldosterone. In case the quantity of sodium is too low, aldosterone stimulates the kidneys in order to favor the absorption from the urine. In case the quantity of sodium is excessive, the aldosterone is deactivated and the sodium is expelled by means of urine. Thanks to this system, the excess of sodium does not cause any problem in healthy subjects. In subjects in which the system regulated by the aldosterone does not work properly, the consumption of sodium can be cause of hypertension problems. For this reason subjects suffering from hypertension should limit the consumption of kitchen salt and do not exceed 3 grams of daily intake.

 On this regard it is appropriate to remember some foods contain high quantities of sodium or are however naturally rich in sodium. In this category are found cheese, canned fish, pickled foods, cold cuts, eggs, sea foods, some vegetables such as carrots, onions, spinach, artichokes and beets. Sodium should not be completely eliminated from the diet, it should be adequately reduced and in a pretty gradual way. Sodium helps the regulation of corporal water balance, stimulates muscular contraction and the nervous system, regulates the corporal acid balance and plays an important role in regulating blood pressure.

 Salt is a highly hygroscopic substance, a characteristic which can be easily observed by spreading salt on the slices of a fresh eggplant: after some hours the eggplant will have lost lots of water. Adding the right quantity of salt to a dish is so important that Arnaud Cazenade believes that «French cooks are satisfied only in case the foods leave the kitchen, with their final approval, and nothing else must be added, not even salt or pepper». A bit excessive statement as every individual has his or her personal sensitivity to salt, however it can be said that, in general terms, when someone adds salt to foods for more than two or three times, this means the cook did not do a good job.

 Whenever it is possible, the last adding of salt should be done at the end of cooking, when the sauce has been reduced. In case this simple rule is not followed, it will be more likely the sauce to be too salty. As for broiled meat or barbecue, it is advised to add salt almost at the end of cooking. Adding salt to meat in the beginning means causing the leakage of blood and other liquids, while hardening the meat. Adding salt at the end of cooking, does not allow the complete development of taste. In case it is not possible to add salt at the end of cooking, it is a good habit to weigh salt. When the mistake of adding too salt to a food has made, the remedies that can be used are very few. Sugar is known to contrast salt, however it is not a good idea to add huge quantities of sugar. It does contrast salt, it does not eliminate it. The only efficient remedy is to increase the quantity of the other ingredients in order to dilute the excessive salt.

 Salt is also added to the water used to boil vegetables. It is not a matter of taste only: the salt contained in the water used for boiling vegetables avoids the excessive extraction of mineral salts while increasing the boiling temperature of water. Salt - and this is known since ancient times - is an excellent preservative. Thanks to the osmotic effect, salt tends to absorb water and this is the reason why salt is added to vegetables before keeping them in vinegar. The preservative effects of salt are not only because of its capacity of absorbing water. The presence of salt completely prevents or inhibits the development of some organisms: for this reason it is being used for keeping meat, fish and vegetables.

 Salt is not used in kitchen only. In past times - and probably in recent times as well - people working in salt-works who stayed for months with their legs in saltish water and in the mud, rarely suffered from rheumatic diseases. The black mud deposited in the bottom of salt-works was used as a remedy for arthritis and distortions: it was spread on the part and left to dry. The salt of the Dead Sea, very rich in minerals such as magnesium, sodium potassium, calcium and sulphur, is a natural resource used as a remedy in order to give compactness and elasticity to tissues, as antirheumatic, against muscular pain and as a skin purifier. Famous are the muds of the Dead Sea very rich in salt and minerals and that were used since Roman times both directly or added to creams, soaps and cosmetics.

 In case it is being asked a general opinion about wine, the most probably answer could be “which wine?”, as all wines are different one from each other. The same is true for salt as well. The salt usually found in market is never pure and, because of its origin, together with sodium chloride are also found other substances which make every salt different from another, both for its salty properties and for the aromas. Moreover there are appreciable differences among salts from different countries. Rock-salt is found in underground deposits originated by the drying up of seas, it has a crystalline appearance, it is white colored as well as pink colored because of the presence of iron salts. Besides iron salts, in some natural salt deposits it is possible to find traces of soda and noxious salts, such as arsenic salts. For this reason the salt used for nutritional purposes is from safe deposits only.

 Kitchen salt is obtained from the deposits of rock-salt, the technique of extraction consists in pumping water in the underground layers rich in salt, then the water, which has now diluted the salt, is pumped back. This water is then poured in containers and allowed to evaporate in order to leave salt crystals only. The product obtained this way is usually found in many countries in the form of blocks or tablets. Table salt is obtained with the same procedure, however it is properly treated in order to avoid the hardening and finely ground. The level of purity of this salt is pretty high, it is depurated from other hygroscopic salts and usually added with starch, calcium phosphate and other substances. This type of salt is very poor in aromas.

 Sea salt - so called because it is obtained by evaporating sea water - is very common in many countries, in other can be found in specialized shops only. Sea salt is obtained by allowing sea water to evaporate in large containers usually located in the coasts, the so called salt works. In general terms, the procedure of extraction of sea salt is unique, however every country has its own techniques - more or less efficient - from artisan and traditional ones, to industrial ones. Sea water, during the periods of high tides, enters large vats where it is left to stay and in order to allow scoriae to deposit. The second phase consists in transferring the water from the first vat to the second one where it is allowed to evaporate therefore reducing its volume. In the next phase the water of the second vat is transferred in the third vat and here it will completely evaporate while leaving the salt on the bottom. In traditional salt-works, salt is collected by hand, dried and cleaned in a natural way. In “industrial” salt-works, salt is being collected by using machineries and then refined and purified, an operation which can also make use of other mineral salts.

 Sea water contains high quantities of sodium chloride and other elements, such as iodine (useful for the good health of thyroid), magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron and sulphur, substances which make salt particularly rich and tasty. Moreover can be found salts with a bad taste and even with noxious substances, however their content is so low and can be considered negligible. Refined salt undergoes a cleaning process which eliminates a good part of mineral salts, including iodine, which can be subsequently added in order to obtain “iodine salt” usually sold in shops.

 Whole sea salt has a good aroma and it is more tasty than others, however it is always advisable not to exceed with its consumption. Some believes refined salt lacks of the essential mineral salts useful for the body, therefore believe it is better to make use of whole sea salt, where these minerals are found in higher quantities. Spicy salts are home made products which are now available in shops too. They are made by adding spices and aromatic herbs to the salt in order to give it more aromas. In the market are also available aromatic salts which can be easily made at home. For example it is enough to put in a container salt and garlic, salt and celery, or any other combination suggested by fantasy. Moreover there also are salts of vegetal origin - naturally found in vegetables - which are indispensable for the good health of human body.