Sea salt is usually obtained by allowing salt water to evaporate in specially designed salt evaporation ponds. It has been harvested this way since ancient times. Sea salt is different from other table salts in a number of ways, but it contains very little bromine and only the smallest traces of iodine and iodide. For this reason, even though people think that sea salt is healthier, there is no nutritional evidence to back up this belief.
General information:
From Wikipedia: “Sea salt is salt produced from the evaporation of seawater, rather than by being extracted from sedimentary deposits. It is used in cooking and cosmetics. It is also called bay salt or solar salt. Like mineral salt, production of sea salt has been dated to prehistoric times. Some cooks believe it tastes better than salt from mines. However, there is little or no health benefit to using sea salt over other forms of sodium chloride salts.”
Historical and modern production:
“The principle of production is evaporation of the water from the sea brine. In warm and dry climates this may be accomplished entirely by using solar energy, but in other climates fuel sources have been used. Modern sea salt production is almost entirely found in Mediterranean and other warm, dry climates. Such places are today called salt works, instead of the older English word saltern. ...
The dilute brine of the sea was largely evaporated by the sun. In Roman areas, this was done using ceramic containers known as briquetage. Workers scraped up the concentrated salt and mud slurry and washed it with clean sea water to settle impurities out of the now concentrated brine. They poured the brine into shallow pans (lightly baked from local marine clay) and set them on fist-sized clay pillars over a peat fire for final evaporation. Then they scraped out the dried salt and sold it.
Today, salt labelled "sea salt" in the US might not have actually come from the sea, as long as it meets the FDA's purity requirements.”
Taste:
“Some gourmets believe sea salt tastes better and has a better texture than ordinary table salt. In applications that retain sea salt's coarser texture, it can provide a different mouth feel, and may change flavor due to its different rate of dissolution. The mineral content also affects the taste. The colors and variety of flavors are due to local clays and algae found in the waters the salt is harvested from. For example, some boutique salts from Korea and France are pinkish gray, some from India are black. Black and red salts from Hawaii may even have powdered black lava and baked red clay added in. Some sea salt contains sulfates. It may be difficult to distinguish sea salt from other salts, such as pink "Himalayan salt", Maras salt from the ancient Inca hot springs, or rock salt (halite).”
Health:
“According to The Mayo Clinic and Australian Professor Bruce Neal, the health consequences of ingesting sea salt or regular table salt are the same, as the content of sea salt is still mainly sodium chloride. In comparison, table salt is more heavily processed to eliminate minerals and usually contains an additive to prevent clumping.
Iodine, an element essential for human health, is present only in small amounts in sea salt. Iodised salt is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of the element iodine.”
Fleur de Sel and gray salt (sel gris):
“Fleur de sel is the most expensive type of sea salt. It forms as a paper-thin layer on the surface of the water and is collected manually using a wooden rake on days when it is hot, sunny, and there is very little wind. ...
Fleur de sel contains over 97% sodium chloride, 0.5% calcium sulfate, 0.3% magnesium chloride, 0.2% magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), and about 0.1% potassium chloride. The remainder is residual moisture.
Gray salt (sel gris) is harvested from the water at lower depths under the fleur de sel. ... It contains a high level of residual moisture and has to be crushed in a rustproof salt mill or with a mortar and pestle.*”
Note (italics): * = Translation from a German Wikipedia entry
Nutrient tables
The complete nutritional information, coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in the following nutrient tables.
Nutritional Information
|
per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Energy | 0 kcal 0 kJ | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2000kcal |
Fat/Lipids | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 70g |
Saturated Fats | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 20g |
Carbohydrates (inc.dietary fiber) | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 270g |
Sugars | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 90g |
Fiber | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 25g |
Protein/Albumin | 0 g | 0.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 50g |
Cooking Salt (Na:38'000.0 mg) | 96'520 mg | 4'021.7% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2.4g |
Essential micronutrients with the highest proportions | per 100g | 2000 kcal | |
---|---|---|---|
Sodium, Na | 38'000 mg | 4'750.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg | |
Min | Iod, I (Jod, J) | 100 µg | 67.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 150 µg |
Min | Iron, Fe | 3.0 mg | 21.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Min | Copper, Cu | 0.14 mg | 14.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Min | Fluorine, F | 480 µg | 14.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 3'500 µg |
Elem | Magnesium, Mg | 37 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Min | Manganese, Mn | 0.20 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Elem | Calcium, Ca | 51 mg | 6.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Elem | Potassium, K | 56 mg | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Min | Zinc, Zn | 0.08 mg | 1.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Detailed micronutrients and daily requirement coverage per 100g
Explanations of nutrient tables in general
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Essential fatty acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Alpha-Linolenic acid; ALA; 18:3 omega-3 | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 2.0 g |
Linoleic acid; LA; 18:2 omega-6 | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 10 g |
Essential amino acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Tryptophan (Trp, W) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.25 g |
Threonine (Thr, T) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.93 g |
Isoleucine (Ile, I) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.2 g |
Leucine (Leu, L) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 2.4 g |
Lysine (Lys, K) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.9 g |
Methionine (Met, M) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.93 g |
Phenylalanine (Phe, F) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.6 g |
Valine (Val, V) | 0 g | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.6 g |
Vitamins | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.1 mg |
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Niacin (née vitamin B3) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 16 mg |
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 6.0 mg |
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Vitamin A, as RAE | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 µg |
Vitamin D | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 5.0 µg |
Folate, as the active form of folic acid (née vitamin B9 and | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 200 µg |
Essential macroelements (macronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Sodium, Na | 38'000 mg | 4'750.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Magnesium, Mg | 37 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Calcium, Ca | 51 mg | 6.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Potassium, K | 56 mg | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Phosphorus, P | 1.0 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 700 mg |
Essential trace elements (micronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Iod, I (Jod, J) | 100 µg | 67.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 150 µg |
Iron, Fe | 3.0 mg | 21.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Copper, Cu | 0.14 mg | 14.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Fluorine, F | 480 µg | 14.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 3'500 µg |
Manganese, Mn | 0.20 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Zinc, Zn | 0.08 mg | 1.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
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