Properties of Sea Salt

Salt is a compound composed of one atom each of sodium and chlorine. Without salt, biological process that sustain life would not be possible. Salt comprises 77 percent of the total dissolved solids in the sea. There are other dissolved minerals in sea salt, and this is the chief difference between sea salt and common table salt. Table salt has been refined to remove other minerals. Sea salt is obtained by evaporating seawater. Sea salt is also extracted from salt mines that are the evaporated remnants of ancient sea beds.

Composition

• Sea salt is composed of sodium chloride and other elements such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. Bicarbonates (molecules of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen) are also present. Sea salt is extracted from seawater by a process of evaporation in different pools. This is necessary to precipitate out minerals that have an unpleasant taste, such as bromide and bicarbonates. Ocean salt water has a salinity of 3.5 percent. This is crucial to sustaining life for marine organisms.

Physical Structure

• Sea salt, when precipitated through evaporation, consists of crystals in isometric and cubic shapes. The size of the crystals depends on the way it has been extracted through water evaporation. Certain minerals may remain after this process, affecting salt's crystalline structure. Larger salt crystals are typically used as kosher salt. Sea salt crystals are white, flecked with trace elements and other compounds that have different colors.

Biochemistry

• Biological functions require salt, because sodium is an electrolyte and conducts electrical signals along the nervous system. Many of the body's functions require communication between the brain and internal organs, such as the heart and lungs. Other organs like the kidneys and liver control body chemistry and depend on salt to help regulate fluids in the body. Chloride combines with hydrogen to form hydrogen chloride. Hydrogen chloride reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid, which is necessary for food digestion.

Culinary Uses

• Sea salt, used to flavor food, has historically been popular because of its accessibility and inexpensiveness. Koshering meats requires large salt crystals to draw out blood and fluids. This process is also antibacterial. Sea salt is more flavorful because of trace minerals that are absent in refined table salt. In addition, refined salt has additives such as anti-caking agents that alter the salt's taste. Sea salt's larger crystal size also makes it more suitable as a crusting layer for meats and fish.