For many, salt is simply those tasty white granules used for seasoning food. However, as we'll explore in this article, there exists a wide array of salt varieties beyond just table salt.
Salts from around the globe vary in appearance, flavor profiles, and culinary uses.
What Is Salt?
Table salt, composed of sodium chloride, is typically harvested by evaporating sea water or mined from salt mines. It has been utilized since ancient times for seasoning and preserving food.
However, table salt is just one variety among many types found worldwide. Each type possesses unique characteristics and flavors, as well as varying mineral compositions.
These differences contribute to their distinct properties. Some salts, unlike those used in cooking, have a bitter taste and are more suitable for skincare or medicinal purposes.
10 Different Types Of Salt
Kosher Salt
Kosher salt is an edible variety used traditionally for koshering meat or drawing out moisture. It features larger, flaky crystals compared to table salt and lacks additives like iodine, meeting kosher standards.
Increasingly popular globally, kosher salts are valued for enhancing food flavor significantly.
Himalayan Salt
Himalayan salt, with its distinctive pink hue, originates from the Himalaya mountains in South Asia. It is formed through the evaporation of ancient waters, enriching it with more than 84 different minerals that are believed to offer numerous health benefits.
Because of its perceived health advantages, Himalayan pink salt is commonly used as a healthier alternative to table salt.
Epsom Salt
Epsom salt originates from a spring in Epsom, Surrey, England. Despite its bitter taste, it is not meant for culinary use.
Instead, epsom salt is widely cherished as a bath salt, a tradition dating back to the 17th century. Bathing with epsom Salt offers numerous benefits such as relaxation, soothing effects, exfoliation, and moisturization.
It also serves well as a detoxifying foot soak, like our popular Detox Foot Soak. Discover a diverse range of bath soaks, including our top seller, the Sitz Bath Soak, at our online store.
Fleur De Sel
The salt's name, Fleur de Sel, translates to "flower of salt" in French. It is renowned for its delicate, paper-thin crystals and comes with a luxurious price tag.
Harvested by hand from tidal pools in Brittany, France, this salt requires warm, sunny days with a gentle breeze and low humidity for optimal harvesting conditions, hence its exclusivity and cost.
Fleur de Sel is predominantly used as a finishing salt.
Alaea Salt
Also referred to as Red Hawaiian salt, this sea salt stands out with its distinctive red brick color and robust flavor profile. Derived from Hawaiian clay known as "alaea," it gains its characteristic hue from this natural source.
Alaea salt is prized for its mineral-rich composition and iron oxide content. Deeply rooted in Hawaiian traditions, it plays a significant role in ceremonial practices, such as cleansing, purifying, and blessing canoes, homes, and temples.
It also holds a special place in traditional cuisine, enhancing dishes like poke and kalua pig. Its vivid color makes it ideal for use as a finishing salt.
Mediterranean Sea Salt
Mediterranean Sea salt is harvested by evaporating seawater from the Mediterranean Sea. Often confused with table salt, it actually contains a variety of minerals that make it ideal for various skincare uses, with bath salts being the most popular.
Mediterranean Sea salt is excellent for exfoliation, detoxification, moisturizing, soothing tired muscles and joints, and promoting relaxation. Check out our Lilliuma Detoxify Bath Salt at Better Bath Better Body, crafted with Mediterranean Sea salt.
Dead Sea Salt
Dead Sea salt originates from the Dead Sea, renowned for its rich mineral content that offers diverse benefits. Widely embraced in the skincare sector, Dead Sea salt is prized for its exfoliating, moisturizing, detoxifying, and anti-aging properties.
It serves as a top choice for detox baths and finds applications in foot soaks, body scrubs, and facial treatments. Interestingly, it is occasionally employed in culinary contexts as well.
Cyprus Black Lava Salt
Cyprus Black Lava salt originates from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and stands out with its jet-black color derived from volcanic charcoal. Its distinctive pyramid shape adds to its allure.
This gourmet sea salt offers a subtle earthy flavor, ideal for enhancing the taste of meats and salads when used as a finishing touch.
Kala Namak
Kala Namak, which translates to "black salt" in Hindi, is a variant of Himalayan salt known for its distinctive reddish-black color. To make Kala Namak, Himalayan salt is combined with charcoal, herbs, seeds, and bark, then heated in a furnace for 24 hours before being aged.
It is loved for its unique flavor, although its strong, sulfurous smell may not appeal to everyone. Kala Namak is commonly used in vegetarian cuisine and plays a significant role in Ayurvedic medicine.
Sel Gris
Sel Gris, another type of sea salt from France, is known as "gray salt." Unlike Fleur de Sel, it is coarser and retains more moisture because it is harvested differently.
While Fleur de Sel is carefully skimmed from the surface of salt pans, Sel Gris is allowed to settle at the bottom, giving it a light gray color derived from this method.
Various cultures, influenced by their unique geographies, yield distinct types of salt. While Kosher salt and Himalayan Pink salt are common in kitchens, epsom salt, Mediterranean Sea salt, and Dead Sea salt are essential for the bathroom.
Which of these salts interest you the most? Click here to explore our range of premium epsom salt and sea salt bath soaks at Better Bath Better Body.
