By Science + Fourchette
Coarse salt, fine and grey sea salt, fleur de sel...
In addition to table salt, there are many different types of salt on the market. Are there better ones to have in your pantry? Do they all have the same effect on our health? Let's demystify salt and all its particularities!
There are 2 categories of salt in grocery stores: table salt and specialty salts... and they don't all cost the same!
Table salt
We're all familiar with table salt, recognizable by its immaculate white colour. It's made from sodium chloride, the famous NaCl we learn about at school. Much cheaper, it comes from underground rock salt deposits. After extraction, it is refined, then sold in the form of small or large crystals.
In Canada, table salt has been mandatorily fortified with iodine since 1949, as the government established it was necessary to eliminate iodine deficiency diseases in the country.
Specialty salts
The other category is generally more expensive, but it's easy to see why. Whether we're talking about pink Himalayan salt, black Hawaiian salt or grey sea salt, specialty salts are harvested all over the world for their properties (colour, texture, taste). Some come from underground or mountain deposits, others from the ocean, and what they all have in common is that they have not been refined by mechanical or chemical processes.
Sea salt, for example, is a specialty salt produced by the evaporation of seawater caused by wind and sun. It is collected by hand, resulting in coarse grains of salt, sold in this form, or ground to make fine sea salt.
Unlike table salt, it is not enriched with iodine. On top of salty tasting sodium, additional minerals are also found in these salt crystals. That's why it's often described as being rich in minerals, and that's also what gives it its naturally grey colour.
Fleur de sel
Fleur de sel requires even more meticulous work. Harvested by hand, it is collected as soon as the sea salt begins to crystallize after evaporation. The result is crunchy crystals with distinctive flavours. This specialty salt, known for its finesse, makes an awesome gift.
Salt and health
From a scientific point of view, whether it's table salt or specialty salt, whether it's richer in minerals or not, salt is salt. The science is clear: whatever form it takes, consuming too much salt has harmful consequences for our health and can increase our risk of suffering from high blood pressure. Moderation always tastes better!
Different salts, different uses
Table salt is all-purpose salt. It's the kind you have in your kitchen when you need a lot – for example, for baking in a salt crust or for salting pasta cooking water – and some people don't think it's worth paying more for these uses.
Specialty salts, like all Maison Orphée salts, are particularly good when used to adjust seasoning or as a finishing touch. Their beautiful crystals add flavour and texture, making them a wonderful addition to any dish!
DID YOU KNOW?
Celtic sea salt is a grey salt, harvested from the Celtic Sea, hence its name. It is also known as Sel de Guérande and Sel de Bretagne.
Celtic sea salt is the result of the evaporation of water, caused by the combined action of sun and wind, in the clay-bottomed basins of salt marshes. Because of these clay bottoms, grey salt is rich in minerals (sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium) and trace elements (iron, manganese and zinc), which give it its characteristic grey hue. The presence of these minerals also contributes to its taste and nutritional properties, enabling it to be categorized as a specialty salt.
In the 1980s, Maison Orphée began importing grey sea salt from a region just south of the Celtic Sea: the island of Noirmoutier. The clayey bedrock there gives these grey salts the same properties as those sought-after in Celtic sea salts!