Salt, the most humble of condiments nowadays, is one of the most important discoveries that has shaped human history and culinary traditions.
From ancient civilizations to modern cuisines, salt has been a vital element throughout human history. It has been crucial for the preservation of foods, thus contributing to human development. Its uses go beyond the culinary, however.
Salt has not been influential in human nutrition alone, but it has also had an impact on health, politics, taxation, transport, and commerce throughout the ages. According to the paper “A contribution to the history of common salt,” by N G Desanto et al, “all human activities have been influenced by salt including economy, religious beliefs and practices, art, literature, psychoanalysis, superstitions, and exorcism. In different cultures salt is recognized as a symbol for friendship, hospitality, chastity, alliance, table fellowship, fidelity, fertility, blessing, curse, endurance, etc.”
What the ancients didn’t know was that salt is essential to human health, as sodium ions play critical roles in nerve function, muscle contraction, and maintaining fluid balance in the body.
Scientifically known as sodium chloride (NaCl), salt is a crystalline mineral composed of two elements: sodium and chlorine. It is a fundamental compound available in abundance in nature, including in seawater, salt deposits, surface encrustations, and even in the Earth’s crust itself.
Humans have been collecting salt for millennia, extracting it through various methods, such as evaporating it from seawater or mining it from underground deposits.
In its purest form, salt appears as white crystals, but it can also be of varying colors depending on the impurities present and surrounding minerals. In addition to its culinary uses, salt serves industrial purposes, such as in chemical manufacturing and water treatment.
History and harvesting of salt, a key element in culinary traditions
The earliest findings regarding the discovery and history of salt, based on an excavation in Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Romania, date back to 6,000 years ago after. A salt production site was found there. Early civilizations began harvesting it to preserve food and enhance flavor.
In the Shangxi province of China, a salt lake known as Yuncheng is referred to as early as 6000 BC. It is believed that wars were fought over control of its salt reserves. When the water evaporated during dry season, people gathered salt from the exposed flats.
Ancient civilizations relied on various methods for harvesting salt, depending on geographical and environmental constraints. A common method was to channel seawater or saline springs into shallow ponds where solar evaporation dried the water and left behind salt deposits. This technique was prevalent in coastal areas with abundant sunlight.
In inland areas without access to seawater, people turned to salt mining. Miners extracted salt from underground deposits that had often been formed millions of years ago when ancient seas evaporated. Vast masses of salt buried deep beneath the earth’s surface would then be left behind. The ancient Egyptians gathered salt from the numerous Nile marshes.
References to salt, the prized culinary condiment, throughout human history
In China, 4,700 years ago, Png-tzao-kan-mu recorded more than 40 types of salt, in one of the earliest known writings about the condiment. Png-tzao-kan-mu is one of the most ancient known writings to date.
In the Bible, there are no fewer than 24 references to this substance. Additionally, in the Gospels, the parable of salt is a central one. Many church elders have written on salt, which, up to 1969, was a relevant element in the rite of baptism. In the Book of Genesis, Lot’s wife becomes a pillar of salt after she looks back at Sodom.
In ancient times, cultures such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans valued salt highly for its culinary and religious significance, using it in rituals and as a form of currency.
The Egyptians were actually the first to realize the preservation possibilities of the mineral. Sodium draws the bacteria-causing moisture out of foods as it dries them. In this way, we can store food for longer periods of time without it spoiling. Today, delicacies such as prosciutto and dry ham, among others, are all the result of salt curing. In ancient Egypt, they were packing mummies in salt, too.
The importance of salt extended beyond mere utility as a preservative or condiment. In ancient times, salt became interwoven with social customs and rituals. From purification ceremonies to religious offerings, salt played a central role in ancient rituals, symbolizing purity, abundance, and divine blessings. In essence, it was not just a condiment but an important element woven into the very fabric of everyday life.
Salt played a central role in the economies of numerous regions, as well. It was often reflected in place names. Salt was likewise used as a basis for population censuses and taxation, and salt monopolies were practiced in many states. In early England, the “wich” suffix in English place names like Middlewich and Norwich is associated with areas where salt working was a common practice.
Salt as valuable good and currency in human history
The Romans valued salt highly, using it as currency for trade. The contemporary word “salary” comes from the Latin word “salarium,” which referred to the allowance paid to Roman soldiers for buying salt.
The mineral emerged as a catalyst for economic growth and political power thousand of years ago. In medieval times, those who controlled salt production and trade routes across Europe became ruling elites, establishing monopolies in salt mines and distribution networks.
In medieval times, salt taxation became a pervasive practice, serving as a reliable source of revenue for governments. The importance of salt in medieval economies encouraged the growth of market towns in Europe and fueled the rise of powerful city-states, shaping the socio-political landscape of the Middle Ages.
In France, for example, the salt tax, known as the “gabelle,” was a major source of revenue for the king. The tax was so high that it led to widespread unrest, and the French Revolution was in part sparked by people who rebelled against the salt tax.
The numerous uses of salt throughout human history
In modern times, salt continues to be an important part of global industries, cooking practices, and health issues as well as chemical production, water treatment, and road deicing. It is available in abundance and can be used in far more ways than most people might imagine.
Besides cooking, however, salt can be used in various ways around the home. This includes cleaning, maintenance of household items, tending of the garden, and personal care.
Furthermore, salt helps in removing stains from fabrics, deodorizes, and polishes wooden and metal surfaces. It is also useful for removing rust and water stains from wooden surfaces, shining brass objects, getting rid of coffee stains, cleaning ovens and stoves, and sanitizing refrigerators.
In terms of gardening, salt can kill off weeds and poison ivy as well as cabbage worms and slugs, deter ants from entering homes, and assist in the cleaning of tools and outdoor gear. In personal care, seawater salt can exfoliate your skin and promote circulation, soothe itchy skin, remove stains from your teeth, and whiten them.
Overall, a look back at history shows salt has been a crucial element for the survival of human kind and has subsequently helped in the development of human civilizations.
