Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to upgrade your salt.
Level of Commitment: Baby Steps
From discussions lately on Facebook and in Friday’s post about healthy salt, it seems that many of you are totally on top of this issue. If you are still using iodized table salt, however, or even bright white sea salt, it’s time to make an easy, easy switch.
Is Salt Traditional?
Salt was a prized commodity hundreds and thousands of years ago. It’s necessary for the rising of bread, many fermentation practices and other food preservation techniques. Without salt, humans would die and many of our favorite foods would be rendered impossible.
Christ also said in the Gospels (as an astute reader pointed out Friday), “You are the salt of the earth,” and in so many other places in Scripture, salt is discussed in only a positive light.
I have a hard time believing that something so greatly-sought-after, so honored in the Scriptures, could be the demon our culture has made it out to be.
Please read about healthy salt to find out the complaints against salt, what the culprit really is, and how to look for “real” unrefined salt.
Unrefined Sea Salt
Ultimately, all salt comes from the sea. Don’t bother paying a premium for the white sea salt, which may or may not have been in the sea anywhere near you and has been highly processed to strip away 90% of the minerals it contains.
Unrefined sea salt comes in 3 kinds that I know of:
- Himalayan Salt
- Celtic Sea Salt
- Real Salt
You can tell you’ve got a winner if your salt is various colors, often pink, tan, grey, or speckled.
***Some great conversation on Facebook about quite a number of other brands/kinds, also check the comments. Just look for natural harvesting (not super high heat, bleaching, refining, etc.) and other minerals or a color other than white!
Himalayan Salt
I had never heard of Himalayan Salt until I posted something on Facebook last week asking what kind of salt people used. It turns out Himalayan salt is an ancient deposit of salt beneath the earth in the Himalayan Mountains, which means the product avoids modern pollution in the oceans. All of its minerals are intact, and I do hear some good things about it.
It looks like there might be a granulated option, which is a nice thing, but it does have to be flown in from Pakistan. It looks like the granulated salt is 9.5 oz. for $9.99 and 5 lbs for $19.00. The big crystals that you need a salt grinder for are the same, with free shipping.
Celtic Salt
Celtic salt is harvested in the Atlantic off the coast of France using old world methods. Wooden rakes ensure no metal ever touches the salt. It is naturally dried and contains all 84 trace elements.source
As far as price, I see a huge bulk bag here, 22 lbs. for $88. This site has 5 lbs. for $23 and an 8-oz. shaker for $9.50. I guess there’s a granulated option I didn’t know about!
Real Salt
Real Salt is mined from an ancient sea in the depths of Utah. Like Himalayan salt, it is exempt from the issues of modern pollution. Mining 300 feet below the surface, they take care to make sure no contaminants enter the salt during processing.
You can see Real Salt’s full nutritional profile here.
They do an interesting thing on the Real Salt website, talking well about the competition. You can see their comparison of these three salts right here. I have to say, I like their sassiness!
The cost that I’ve paid in West Michigan includes a 9 oz. shaker for $3.59 at
Meijer and $7.05 for a 28 oz. (not quite 2 lbs.) bag at a local health food store. They sell a bulk 10-lb. bucket online for $41.97, a 25-lb. bag for $79.49, and I see earth-friendly packaging, all paper, which is pretty cool.
What I Use
I use both Celtic Salt and Real Salt. I got a huge bulk bag of Celtic Salt last year, and for quite a while, I only used it in soups where I knew it would dissolve, because I hadn’t tracked down a ceramic salt grinder (metal would rust because of the moisture content).
Now that I have one, I can use it at the table, but I realized that I’d have to grind salt for baking. There’s no way I’m going to grind a teaspoon or two of salt to make bread – I spend enough time standing around in my kitchen!
So for me, granulated salt is paramount. I’m very happy to have my bulk package of Real Salt, which I feel like I’m constantly replacing!
Benefits to Real Salt
In my book, Real Salt is the winner, which is why I approached them to work with me on this post. Here are just a few reasons:
- U.S. company (we Americans are not dependent on foreign salt)
- Easy to find, even in my big chain grocery store
- Already granulated – no grinding salt just to make bread or muffins
For me, I’ve decided to listen to my body and salt my food as it tastes good. Many people would probably pop their eyes open seeing me generously shake salt on my baked potatoes and eggs. But the good stuff, I don’t believe, won’t hurt me, and since we eat hardly any processed foods, I bet I still get less salt than the average American.
Here’s something interesting – just in January, the government lowered their daily requirements for salt intake by almost a third, from 2300 mg to 1500. Phew! source
Is it Gritty?
I’ve had a few people mention on Facebook and Twitter last week that their experience with Real Salt was a negative one, that it was so gritty, even in bread, that it was like eating sand. “How do you deal with that?” they asked.
It’s simple. I’ve never noticed. ??? This weekend I will admit that perhaps in my pancakes, I did notice a little more crunch than one might expect. Huh! I was surprised. I’ve definitely never noticed it in bread or soup or anything.
Of course, I just conducted a quick experiment, dissolving a generous shake of Real Salt in warm water. And? It doesn’t quite all dissolve. The brown specks are still there, but they are small. Not tooth breakingly present, believe me. I learned something new today!
What salt do you use? Which one sounds the most practical to you for a switcheroo this week?
———————————————
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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Real Salt. However, they were already my favorite, so every word of this post would be the same with or without sponsorship except for this explanation. And this nice little logo here:
See my full disclosure statement here.
I use finely ground Celtic sea salt-it’s very similar in texture to table salt, but it’s full of nutrients I love the taste of it.
And I just realized you’re in West Michigan? I’m in the GR/Walker area
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Katie Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 12:30 am
Sara,
Katie
Yep, I’m in GR as well!
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I use RealSalt and have for years! We love it! I even have a small plastic salt shaker in my purse at all times so that I don’t have to use regular table salt when I eat food at a friend’s house or on the road. I have never had a problem with feeling that it is gritty in anything.
We purchase ours through Country Life Natural Foods in large 25 pound bags and it is about $50 that way. I even bought some ahead as salt will not spoil and prices on everything are expected to be climbing.
I think RealSalt is a very user friendly salt and though more expensive than regular salt, it is well worth it to get away from the processing and chemicals of regular table salt.
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I use celtic seat salt – LOVE the taste, use the coarse ground in much stuff, have a grinder as well for the kids and when I just need a little, have some real salt too bought because it was so fine for baking and such
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I’m just looking for tips to store bulk salt without it turning into a brick. Anyone have the solution?
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Katie Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Lisa,
Katie
I wonder if those little bears for brown sugar would do anything helpful. ?? I’ll try to remember to check w/my contact at Real Salt; they love their product so much, I have a feeling they’ll have the solution for you!
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Beth Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
I grew up in Central America and we ALWAYS had rice in our salt shakers at the table because of the high humidity. It stays in the shaker when you shake salt on your food. What if you put some rice (uncooked) in one of those tea balls and put it in your salt bag? Just a thought…
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Bebe Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Haha… I use RealSalt and buy it in the 25 lb. bag so mine turns into a brick too. I just drop it on the garage (concrete) floor and voila!, it pours again. Of course if they switch to a paper bag that would probably be a bad idea but for now, in the sturdy plastic bag, it works just fine.
In the house I store my salt in a half gallon plastic jar and I just give it a good shake to break it up enough to refill serving containers.
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I use Maine sea salt from http://maineseasalt.com . I found it up at the Common Ground Fair. I’ve got other sea salts here, but for everyday table use that’s the one I turn to.
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I normally do use white sea salt. I’ll be looking for these products at my local natural foods store and making a change. Perhaps I’ll mix the products at first (since I just purchased salt recently), and ease into the change…
Thanks for the post, I always learn something new!
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Katie Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Dawn,
Katie
You know, I do keep the white sea salt on hand for popcorn, because it’s finer, and for adding to water to boil eggs and potatoes and such, b/c I don’t think we’re consuming much of it. That might help you use it up differently than the Real Salt or whatever you choose.
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Bebe Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Or you can use up the white stuff in your bath… that’s the only place I use it.
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Thanks for the info. I unfortunately recently bought the Sea Salt that is refined (thinking I was making a great healthier choice). I will have to keep my eye out for the real deal now that I have this info!
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I love himalayan pink salt. I put it on my eggs and I am in heaven. If it seems a little crunchy I just put it in the mortar and pestle. Its’ fine.
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I use Maldon Sea Salt flakes – you can crush them between your fingers.
I also love Fleur de Sel, the grey French sea salt and pink Himalayan salt – although you do need a pestle and mortar on hand to grind it!
We eat lots of nuts, so salt seems to disappear a lot faster than it did before I started soaking and dehydrating my nuts.
I love telling people that salt is probably not what’s putting their blood pressure up – it’s the type of salt and the other refined foods in their diet!
x x x
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I’ve been using Real Salt and have noticed that grittiness you mention. Sometimes it hits my teeth just right so as to be highly unpleasant. I find it particularly noticeable in my soup and sauerkraut. (I’m on GAPS so I eat A LOT of soup and sauerkraut!) I’m thinking of switching the salt that I use for these things, which is kind of sad because Real Salt is the best price I’ve found for high quality salt.
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Katie Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Meghan,
katie
You might have some luck flavoring soup with kelp/kombu, which has natural sea salt as well. I am amazed the salt doesn’t dissolve in the soup, what a bummer!
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I’m curious to see if my local stores carry Real Salt, I’ve never noticed it. Totally agree with finding granulated salt, I need to be able to pour it in one handed without having to grind it fresh.
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I usually use kosher salt to cook/bake with etc. We use white mortons sea salt at the table for grinding, and I have a small bag of pink himilayan salt that I grind with a mortar and pestle for some of my foods. I am still researching local options for some sea salts that are cheaper than the pink salt, and hope I can find something before we run out of white sea salt for the grinder. The himilayan salt is tasty, but we can’t afford it as a main table salt unless I can find somewhere cheaper, as I am paying 12 bucks a pound for it atm.
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We use Real Salt for just about everything, but I can’t bring myself to use it for salting pasta water or beans where I know most of it will be drained away! If I started buying it in 25 lb bags, maybe I wouldn’t feel quite so guilty…
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Bebe Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
Buy it in the big bag and know it is flavoring your potatoes and pasta AND nourishing your bodies. I use it with wild abandon!
But wait to salt your beans until they’re almost done… the beans are more tender that way.
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The extra little bits of Real Salt that don’t dissolve into your food are little particles of clay from the clay deposit that’s on top of the salt deposit there. They’re harmless, just a little unnerving sometimes. Rather than uber-process the salt, they just leave it as is.
(I was doing some research on it a while ago and came across this issue as well)
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HI
We have switched to kosher salt here at our house and really like it allot. I tried other salts and found i could not grind them in my morta and pestle 
i had heard of pepper grinders but never a salt one! lol. So I use the natural salts in soups or dissolve it first where possible but we now pretty much use kosher salt…don’t ask me what makes it kosher but it tastes much better and the food results are much better as well.
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Katie Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 1:54 am
Teri,
Katie
Kosher salt is more about the size and sometimes the actual “kosher-ness” of the salt according to a Jewish rabbi. However, it doesn’t have any more minerals or health benefits than table salt, as far as I know. You might like these unrefined salts if you like the coarse grain of kosher anyway! Enjoy!
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There’s no need to run out of this salt. I bought a 10 pound pail of Real Salt from Redmond’s (as you ave pictured) for $39.00, which included the P&H. I have enough salt to share and to run me for a couple years or more. It is well worth the initial outlay in cost when you consider how much it is to buy in the stores. I got my salt for $3.90 per pound. I was paying $3.89 for a 9.6 ounce bottle, so for one penny more I am getting 6.4 ounces more.
If the cost is too pricey, then get family to go in with you and divide the cost.
I have switched out all of our salt for Real Salt, except when I am canning ( I use canning salt), and when I want to salt water for eggs or other times when it does not really matter.
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Thanks so much for the post, Katie. I’ve been using himilayan for a few months now, AND that hubby spotted REAL SALT at our local Amish bulk foods store- 4.11 for two pounds! I was pumped!
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Here, we can buy ground Himalayan sea salt in bulk at our local health food store. It is around $4/lb. But, they do the work for you, if you don’t want to worry about having a grinder. When I did buy it in chunks, I often would grind a bunch at once in my spice grinder and keep it in a little bag for when I needed it. It worked okay! We can also buy a small amount (a few oz.) in its own grinder for $2 at Trader Joe’s, which is not a bad option either.
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I love Celtic Sea Salt. I’m not sure how competitive their prices are, but I buy from http://www.selinanaturally.com. They have a nice selection and very good service.
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Linda Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Also they have a chart comparing the different types of sea salt at http://www.selinanaturally.com/PDF/compare.pdf
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I haven’t heard of Real Salt but plan to check it out. I was told once at a spice shop that salt is salt, whether iodized or sea salt, so it would have the same effect if a person has high blood pressure, but that with sea salt, one would be able to use less of the sea salt. Also, sea salt does have a lot of minerals in it, but does not contain iodine, which we also need.
The Real Salt ad really bothers me — having a young child eating a fresh apple with salt on it? Why? A good way to keep selling their product? Getting a young child used to the taste of salt?
I do use salt — Kosher for soups, etc., a white sea salt (large granules) that I enjoy grinding in my salt grinder, and I have some Himalayan sea salt that I use occasionally, probably because I was told that it is too moist to put in my salt grinder.
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Beth Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:36 pm
I haven’t seen the ad but Real Salt does have iodine in it along with other trace minerals. My mom and I both like salt on granny smith apples, lol… and green mangoes, and jicama with lemon juice, and…
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Bebe Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
I hear an underlying notion that salt is bad for you and therefore bad for kids but good salt is nourishing!
My MD and Nurse Practitioner, who have an integrated medicine practice, actually PRESCRIBE RealSalt. Used liberally on/in food and a teaspoon a day mixed in water… to drink! This is for thyroid/adrenal health and they have not seen a correlation between the salt consumption and high blood pressure in their patients, including me.
I love it on apples too, especially with a little cinnamon. Melon, tomato, pineapple and avocado are other fruits that are made more luscious with a little salt. I find it really brings out the natural sweetness and it’s all I season my sweet potatoes with anymore… no sweetener needed.
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Katie Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 12:29 am
Bebe,
Katie
You are a wealth of information today! Fabuloso! Thank you!
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Anne Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Bebe, if you’re hearing an underlying notion that salt is bad for you, but good salt is nourishing, I’m wondering where this notion is coming from. It seems to me this notion is the theme of both of Katie’s blogs on salt, as well as your own comments.
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Katie Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Yes, Anne, Real Salt does have iodine. You’d appreciate the information in Friday’s post right here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/03/04/food-for-thought-is-there-such-thing-as-healthy-salt/
I go over how much iodine and how we really ought to be getting our iodine anyway. Table salt and refined sea salt are equal, yes, but this salt really is different. I understand not everyone puts salt on their apples, but really, I defer to Bebe there who said it very well: if we can stop thinking of salt as hazardous, a little here and there becomes a good thing.
Katie
Hope that clears some things up!
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Oh, this is so helpful to me! It’s something I’ve been wanting to know about for a long time, but never knew how to really begin the research! I knew the cheap white salt couldn’t be good, and everytime my MIL said “it has iodine, so we need it” I would cringe, but never knew how to respond! So now, I will change our salt habits AND have evidence for a discussion with my (Whom I love and get along with great, btw)!
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I’ve been using Real Salt and just recently started using Celtic sea salt. I don’t notice anything gritty in anything I bake or make. I will also use Kombu in my soups, it’s a nice way to add trace minerals and some salt too. I bought a large amount of Real Salt from Azure Standard. I think they ship everywhere, and their prices are amazing.
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I started using Real Salt a couple of years ago after visiting Utah. I use it in everything, including my neti pot and I have never had a problem. My husband has hypertension and he has no problem with this raising his blood pressure. I agree with others who mentioned that the blood pressure issue is likely due to other additives in food. There are various studies out there about sodium raising blood pressure, some agree that it does, others don’t.
My personal experience as a nurse practitioner has been that if you have high blood pressure, cut out adding salt to your food and stop eating ALL processed food. If your blood pressure goes down, try adding a little sea salt to your food to taste and see what happens to your blood pressure. Most people can tolerate it. And a lot of people have no change in their BP by reducing salt. And honestly, if you’re over the age of 75 and you can’t taste your food without salt, I’d rather you use salt and eat, than lose too much weight because you don’t want to eat stuff that is tasteless! Oh, and if you make it past 90, please feel free to eat whatever you darn well please! Good grief, we are so hung up on food!
If we would all just go back and eat like our forefathers did, mostly eliminating sugar and artificial anything, we’d all be SO MUCH healthier. Add some walking everyday and you’d see a lot more 90+ folks walking around out there.
I haven’t seen Real Salt in any of my local grocery stores and have to make a special trip to the health food store for it. I’m going to look into the bulk options many of you have mentioned.
I’ve been intending to write about salt on my blog. Thanks for the reminder! I’ll link to this article.
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I don’t ‘salt’ dc’s scrambled eggs in the morning, I ‘add their daily trace minerals.’
We like Real Salt. About the grit that doesn’t dissolve (glad to know it’s from the clay) – when I make an electrolyte drink (water, lemon juice, real salt) I swirl it around right before drinking to make sure I don’t miss anything!
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I’ve been using Redmond’s RealSalt for at least a dozen years now. I buy it through a co-op that orders from Azure Standard. Seems like it was about $62 last time I ordered some but the cost breakdown is effective.
I use it in everything: baking, canning, brining fish for smoking, scrambled eggs, sprinkled on fruit… literally everything, and only noticed grittiness in my food on a handful of occasions… probably due to a small clump rather than the individual grains.
It does leave a little clay at the bottom of a pot of water but it’s never really bothered me. I know the goodness of the salt is in the FOOD and anything undissolved is just residue.
I also buy Hawaiian red sea salt and it is red clay that gives it it’s color. I found a three-pack of salts at Costco that included a pink Himalayan, a white Cyprus flake and a gray, moist, Celtic type. I have also fallen in love with a smoked sea salt that comes in flakes… expensive but worth every extra nickel! I keep my various salts, 2 or 3 at any given time, in little pots by the stove. The bigger coarse salts will go into a soup or stew, the flakes get pinched and sprinkled directly into/onto foods just before serving.
I believe strongly in the nourishing value of good salt and even though it may SEEM like we are using a lot I know it’s far less and far better quality than if we were eating pre-prepared food.
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We love RealSalt at our house, although I stopped using it a year ago or so because of the price, and I thought there wasn’t much of a difference. It’s funny you posted this today because last week sometime my husband and I were talking about buying real sea salt. I really like RealSalt, and am planning to buy it the next time I get to my bulk food store!
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Thank you for this info, I really had no idea there were other options out there besides the white sea salt that I get at Costco! Azure seems to have these options on their website at good prices so I am going to consider getting some Real Salt.
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I have been using white sea salt and even the Morton Iodized Kosher salt my husband bought a year ago (a giant box! I felt like I had to use it, but maybe I’ll just use it to salt our front walkway instead…). After your post last week I did a little research, though I still have more to do. From a cursory glance, it seems like the cheapest option is $.50 per ounce to buy salt in bulk at Whole Foods, unless you’re buying a heckuva lot. I find it surprising that WF would be the cheapest option, but maybe my calculations are off as I am entering my third trimester of pregnancy tomorrow.
Anyhow, thanks for the info and since you’ve set a mission I’ll add it to my list for this week.
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I’ve got some ‘sea salt’ (the processed white kind!) I’ve been trying to use up, but have a shaker of Real Salt that I love. And I’ve never noticed a gritty-ness about it, either!
Thanks for the breakdown on the different types of salt!
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Katie,
I tagged you for a meme and a blog award here:
http://milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com/2011/03/few-things-you-didnt-know-about-me-and.html
It’s just a silly little meme, but I had quite a bit of fun with it. Whether you choose to take it on or not, you have a fantastic blog here! Thanks for the resource and forum for discussion it provides.
Naomi x x x
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Katie Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Thanks, Naomi!
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Real Salt is my FAVORITE! It tastes so much better than iodized!
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I’ve been buying sea salt (both in bulk and in a container) at Whole Foods, and I’m a little confused because it clearly says on the packaging that it’s “unrefined,” but it’s also definitely white. Are there different levels of refinement? Or are they defining “unrefined” differently?
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Katie Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Charissa,
Katie
Hmmm…I would contact the company on that one and ask about the mineral content, or if you can see the nutritional analysis, it will have more than just sodium and chloride. Hope that helps!
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Anne Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
All white sea salts are not necessarily refined. On the Savoryspiceshop.com website, check out the Brittany Fleur de Sel, meaning the “flower of salt,” & the Portuguese Flor de Sal, which is even whiter. They describe how the salt is harvested. Fascinating.
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Sorry if I missed this, but if using a mill or grinder, would it have to have ceramic mill parts on just the Celtic Salt, or is this true for all three? Thanks!
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Katie Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Cameo,
katie
The Real Salt doesn’t need grinding, and I guess I’m not sure on Himalayan. Sorry!
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I just bought a couple pounds of Real Salt and we’re noticing the grittiness everywhere. I made bread with it and it was gritty! Pretty much everything I use it on, there’s at least one bite that has crunch to it. I find it rather unnervering. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. My husband has asked that I not use it so much (or at all!!).
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Katie Reply:
May 8th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Beth,
Katie
Huh. That is strange, but you’re definitely not the only one to notice. If it’s dissolved in something hot like soup is the crunch a problem? That is a bit unnerving in bread, I don’t blame you for being hesitant!
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Beth Reply:
May 8th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Beth,
Do you live in a humid climate? When I was living in Central America we ALWAYS has plain white rice mixed in with the salt in the salt shakers to absorb the humidity. The rice stayed in the shaker and the salt shook out.
I’ve been using Real Salt for a while and have never had that problem. I have never had to use rice mixed in where we live now but it’s a problem in really humid places.
Just a thought!
(another Beth!)
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