10 Salty Facts You Might Not Know Until Now

How well do you know Salt? Here are some facts and uses of salt.

10 Salty Facts

1. The sea contains an estimated 40 million-billion tonnes of salt.

2. Salt is used to remove traces of water from aviation fuel after it is purified.

3. Until relatively recently, salt bars were the standard currency of Ethiopia and cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, could be used as money in countries as far apart as Tibet and Borneo.

4. In Arab countries, salt was used to seal a bargain and was also a sign of friendship.

5. In his painting “The Last Supper,” Leonardo da Vinci put an overturned salt cellar in front of the ill-fated Judas.

6. An adult human body contains about 250 grams to maintain the normal volume of blood and digest food. We have salt in every cell of our bodies: That’s why our tears and sweat taste salty.

7. Salt is used in manufacturing an estimated 14,000 products.

8. Salt was used to preserve Egyptian mummies.

9. In many cultures, salt plays a vital part in religious ritual, symbolising purity.

10. Salt is a mineral that almost everyone in the world consumes.

Source: www.saltinfo.com

16 Uses of Salt

1. Salt helps destroy moths and drives away ants.

2. A thin paste of salt and salad oil removes white marks caused by hot dishes or water from wooden tables.

3. Salt added to water makes the water boil at a higher temperature, thus reducing cooking time. (It does not make the water boil faster.)

4. Boiling eggs in salted water will make eggs peel more easily.

5. Poaching eggs over salted water helps set the egg whites.

6. Apples, pears and potatoes dropped in cold, lightly salted water as they are peeled will retain their colour.

7. Salting salads immediately before serving will keep them crisp.

8. The greasiest iron pan will wash easily if you put a little salt in it and wipe with paper.

9. Rubbing with salt will remove stubborn tea or coffee stains from cups.

10. Salt and soda water will clean and sweeten the inside of your refrigerator. It won’t scratch enamel, either.

11. Salt tossed on a grease fire on the stove or in the oven will smother flames. Never use water. It will only spatter the burning grease.

12. A pinch of salt in coffee will enhance the flavor and remove the bitterness of over-cooked coffee.

13. If soup has been over-salted, cut up a raw potato or two and drop into the soup. The potato will absorb the salt.

14. By adding a pinch of salt, cream will whip better and egg whites will beat faster and higher.

15. If wine is spilled on a tablecloth or rug, blot up as much as possible and immediately cover the wine with salt, which will absorb the remaining wine. Later rinse the tablecloth with cold water; scrape up the salt from the rug and then vacuum the spot.

16. Soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few hours then dry them well. When burned, they will not drip.

Source: www.saltinstitue.org

Salty sayings

• The word “salary” comes from the Roman times, when soldiers were paid in salt.
• In ancient Egypt, slaves were traded for salt, hence the expression “not worth his salt.”
• “Salt of the earth” means a person of great goodness. It’s one of more than 30 mentions in the Bible.
• Salt was still a valuable commodity in Elizabethan times, and at the dining tables of nobility, guests were seated in order of importance measured by the location of the salt-cellar (or “saler”) in the center of the table. Distinguished guests sat between the salt and the host (“above the salt”), while lesser people were relegated to the boondocks, “below the salt.” So to say that someone’s family was “above the salt” eventually came to mean that they were at least “well-to-do.”

What other amazing facts do you know of salt?