salt

[redbird]

We just finished a 26-ounce container of salt. I thought it was the first we'd bought here, cattitude thinks it's the second; if the latter, we're using about 3 ounces of salt/year.

Obviously, that vastly underestimates our salt consumption, because a lot of it is in prepared foods of various sorts: soy sauce, canned vegetables, snacks, salami, and so on. We've also used a little bit of some finely ground sea salt, which I bought and then discovered tasted just like the Morton's in the red canister, and we don't eat all our meals at home. Nonetheless, I find it an interesting datum, and not only because of a recent online discussion in which someone said that they'd never used up a canister of salt.

Maybe I'll buy iodized salt next time. Or kosher salt. Or both: I want to be able to refill the salt shaker when we use up the sea salt.

Comments

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I remember when a half-kilo of salt would last me for two or three years.

But then I started making bread. Now I go through it much faster.

[thette.livejournal.com]

You have salt that's not iodized? Huh. You must live in areas where there's far more naturally occuring iodine.

Re:

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Well, redbird is living in Manhattan, which is [part of] a coastal city, and she does eat a fair bit of seafood.

Re:

[redbird]

Both true. Nonetheless, the salt in question was labeled "This salt does not contain iodine, an essential nutrient."

This is one of those true statements that carries a wealth of cultural assumptions behind it. The salt also doesn't contain vitamin C, vitamin D, iron, or calcium, which are also essential nutrients--but nobody expects it to.

[ailbhe]

We use 25kg of sugar a year. This year, we took 14 months to finish 25kg because we weren't here at Christmas, so we didn't bake.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

I haven't cooked with salt or used table salt in years. But now, on doctor's orders, I've stopped using soy sauce; I've mostly replaced it with lime juice. Stopped using prepared foods which have significant sodium content. My blood pressure is now in the safe zone again.

I don't always stick to the diet. But now, soda tastes too salty to me.

[snippy]

A year and a half ago at Cooking School Boink (a gathering of ssm readers) the hostess included a salt tasting as one of the early activities. We tasted Morton's, kosher salt, and a couple of varieties of sea salt. The Morton's was noticably bitter compared to the kosher salt.