Salt has been part of human history for thousands of years and has become a key ingredient in the contemporary human diet.
The most common salt is white table salt – a refined and bleached salt produced from evaporated seawater.
Pakistani pink Himalayan salt was formed about 600 million years ago, as a great inland sea evaporated. The salt is rich in iron, calcium, and 82 other trace minerals—in a remarkably similar balance as that of the human body.
Pink Himalayan crystal salt is believed to be the purest form of salt found on earth. It doesn’t undergo a refinement process and has been preserved by volcanic lava and ice for millennia, protecting it from pollutants.
Cheese platter served on a block of salt.
Image: Roeline Prinsloo
Liezel Maree, Salty Sistas Himalayan Salt Cooking author and SaltPur Cape Town owner explains about the many health
benefits of using Himalayan crystal salt:
- It contains the same 84 trace minerals and elements that are found in the human body and because it is less refined, and fragments are larger, you’re consuming less sodium per serving than regular table salt.
- It supports heart health
- Promotes a stable body pH balance
- Strengthens bones
- Improves circulation
- Lowers blood pressure
- Helps the body absorb nutrients
- Himalayan crystal salt is a natural disinfectant.
Besides the numerous Himalayan table and crystal salt products used in the kitchen you will find that the less common salt slab/ salt block that not only gives food a better taste, it has a higher mineral content.
Himalayan salt blocks take on a life of their own once you start using them. When heated, it will change colour dramatically, and may develop fissures or even large cracks.
The large blocks of salt will impart only a very moderate saltiness and high quantity of 80 trace minerals impart a mild and full taste to the salt, resulting in more flavour complexity to your food.
There are numerous ways to cook with a salt block that are both nutritious and delicious. The new Himalayan Salt Cooking book from the Salty Sistas has over 50 delicious easy to cook recipes.
The Himalayan Salt Cooking book can be found at select Western Cape markets, in branch at select Exclusive Books and Bargain Books stores, online at Loot.co.za or via the website www.saltpur.co.za.
For more information on Himalayan crystal salt and the Salty Sistas range of products email [email protected] or visit www.saltysistas.co.za.