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(ARA) - Does the word "sea" invoke romantic images of voyages to distant, foreign lands? If so, it's probably no surprise that Americans' renewed fascination with the glamour of exotic cuisine has vastly expanded the market for sea salt. Strange names, such as Kala Namak, Fleur de Sel, Alaea, Salish, Black Lava, and Murray River are becoming more familiar to us as a growing number of sea salts become available. These interesting, colorful and tasty variations of the salt eaten every day can be used for dry rubbing on meats and poultry before roasting, scattering a smidgen during pan sauteing or even sprinkling as a finishing touch just prior to plate presentation. Sea salts are "de rigueur" and can instantly connect a humdrum dish to Hawaii's Bonzai Pipeline, the windswept coast of Brittany, the mythic island of Cypress or Australia's famed Murray River Delta. Because of the many varieties, there is no formal definition or any international standard for sea salt. Some insist that sea salts can only be the solar-dried product of fresh sea water, while others declare that all salt deposits, including those found deep under ground, are sea salt since they originally derived from ancient seas eons ago. Consequently, sea salts around the world vary in color, texture, taste and purity. Sodium chloride is the molecule in all salt that is responsible for its typical taste and can occur in levels from 60 percent to 99.9 percent depending upon the variety of sea salt. Impurities in sea salt are generally other minerals typically found in the sea and mud of the harvest area. It is these impurities that impart unique flavors to sea salts. There has been a great deal of talk regarding the nutritional value of these other minerals, but there have been no reliable clinical studies published to support their supposed benefit. In fact, there is one serious problem associated with sea salt. Many people are misled to believe that sea salt naturally contains sufficient iodine to replace the iodine found in iodized salt. Without exception, this is not the case. Iodine is critical for cognitive development in children and parents must understand that sea salt does not provide sufficient iodine for this purpose. While there is no international standard for sea salt, there is a standard for Food Grade salt. It is the Codex Alimentarius standard agreed upon by all countries. The critical part of this standard is that Food Grade salt, regardless of where it comes from, be it sea salt, rock salt or evaporated table salt, must contain a minimum of 97 percent sodium chloride. This means that anyone who uses Food Grade sea salt in their recipes will have approximately the same sodium content as if they had used the normal evaporated table salt. There may be slight differences, but because Food Grade salt must have a minimum of 97 percent sodium chloride, these differences are insignificant. Because it is the sodium chloride that is responsible for the typical salty taste we love, it is impossible to lower the level of salt without affecting the taste, unless you add complex additives to artificially amplify your taste perception or to mask the bitterness of some mineral replacers. The jury is still out on whether the reduced salt formulations of foods, which employ a cocktail of complex synthetic chemicals to replace traditional salt, are of any real health benefit. Whether those sparking crystals are white, black or any color in between, whether they are fine or coarse and whether they come from ancient seas caught in the grip of geological time or from refreshing seas of far-off destinations, enjoy your salt, one of nature's essential nutrients. To learn more about sea salt, visit www.salthealth.org. Courtesy of ARAcontent
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