Edible salt can be said to be a necessary spice in the kitchen of every household, no wonder the folk have long said, "salt is the first of all tastes." In the ancient scientific work "Heavenly Works and Things", salt was divided into six categories: "sea, pond, well, soil, cliff, sand and gravel". The differences in the way salt is made and the form of existence also forms the difference between them.
The salt we usually see or know the most is "sea salt" and "fine salt". Some friends even buy sea salt, thinking that sea salt is more pristine, and the taste is more natural and pure. In fact, this is a big misunderstanding. Although it is also salt, the difference between sea salt and refined salt is still very large.
So today, Lazy Meow will talk to you about the topic of purchasing edible salt, let's take a look, what is the difference between sea salt and refined salt? Which one should I pick? Don't make a mistake.
1. What is the difference between "sea salt" and "refined salt"?
As the name suggests, the "sea" in the word "sea salt" refers to the source of salt, that is, the salt extracted from seawater, which is also a kind of edible salt, which is made by introducing seawater into the salt pan and undergoing sunbathing, evaporation, crystallization and other processes. The "fine" in "fine salt" emphasizes the production process of salt, which is a salt that is re-crystallized and precipitated after removing impurities.
Regarding the difference between "sea salt" and "refined salt", I summarized the following, mainly the following 4 points:
1, different sources: according to the different sources of salt, it can be roughly divided into four categories, namely sea salt, lake salt, rock salt and well salt. Among them, sea salt comes from seawater, lake salt comes from salt lake, rock salt comes from stone salt ore layer, well salt comes from open mine, and the source of refined salt is mostly the latter three;
2, the process is different: sea salt in the production process, the use of the sun method, to go through the tide, brine, crystallization, salt harvesting these four major processes, belongs to the rough processing of salt; refined salt, is the sun salt to remove impurities, again crystallized precipitation of salt, belongs to the finished salt;
3, the composition is different: China allows the addition of potassium ferrocyanide, sodium ferrocyanide, ferric ammonium citrate, silicon dioxide and calcium silicate in the salt these five kinds of anti-caking agents to prevent table salt from sticking together. Sea salt is a table salt obtained by natural sun exposure, and less of it adds anti-caking ingredients, and a large part of refined salt is added with anti-caking ingredients. In addition, the content of trace compounds in sea salt is also higher than that of refined salt;
4, the appearance is different: the appearance of sea salt, usually large particles, and irregular, impurities are relatively more, more primitive; the appearance of fine salt, is fine white particles, almost can not see any impurities, relatively pure.
After understanding the difference between "sea salt" and "refined salt", I believe that the problem that everyone is more concerned about should be these two types of table salt, which one should be selected? Let's talk about it in detail.
2, buy table salt, sea salt and fine salt to pick which is better?
First of all, I want to tell you that sea salt and refined salt are not completely opposites, not all sea salt is not refined salt, or all refined salt is not sea salt.
Sea salt emphasizes the source of salt, while refined salt emphasizes the production process of salt. At present, the sea salt on the market, including the sea salt in most people's cognitive range, is mostly based on the larger particles and not much processing of the original salt of the sun, which is a non-refined salt. Therefore, the comparison we make is from this perspective.
In the face of raw sea salt and finely processed fine salt, the first reaction of many friends is "pure natural good", should choose sea salt, in fact, this is not the case. Most of the sea salt particles are larger, more impurities, more salty, less suitable for daily stir-fry seasoning, more suitable for marinade or salt baking, but also often used for hot compresses. If it is a daily stir-fry seasoning, it is recommended that you choose refined salt.
The reason why many friends do not want to use refined salt is that they are worried that there are anti-caking ingredients in it, and the common ones are potassium ferrocyanide. Although potassium ferrocyanide contains "cyanide", due to the tight binding of ferrous ions, within a limited range, it will not decompose into toxic substances in the human body.
In fact, the regular manufacturers of qualified table salt, the content of potassium ferrocyanide is very low, we usually eat salt is mainly used as a seasoning, it is unlikely to eat potassium ferrocyanide beyond the standard, unless you can eat more than half a pack of salt a day (according to 250 grams / bag), and then consider this problem.
【Lazy Meow Experience】
In the traditional public cognition, "sea salt" represents the original ecology, represents pure nature, and the form is mostly coarse particles; "refined salt" represents the salt obtained after fine processing, and the form is fine powder granules. When buying salt every day, if you want to use it as a cooking seasoning, it is recommended that you choose refined salt, or fine processed "fine sea salt".
Although it is also table salt, the difference in use between "sea salt" and "refined salt" is still very large. After understanding the differences and uses of the two, the next time you buy or use table salt, you will not be easy to make mistakes.
Talk about food in the vernacular, I am lazy meow, a friend who likes food, you can casually click a concern Oh ~ ~