Sodium chloride today ranks first in cooking, since it is not only able to change the taste of food, but also is of great importance to the human body, as it is a part of cells, blood, bile and lymph. It also regulates the pressure in cells and tissues, water and salt metabolism, acid-base balance, promotes the formation of hydrochloric acid during digestion. Edible salt is used as seasoning and for curing fish or meat, salting lard, vegetables, canning.
By its composition, edible salt is natural sodium chloride in almost pure form (not counting a small fraction of impurities), which includes 39.5% sodium and 60% chlorine.
In cooking, it is customary to distinguish several types of salt depending on the impurities that make up their composition.
1. Spanish salt - is widely used for salting sea fish, as it has large crystalline crystals, slowly soluble in water. Due to this property of salt, the marinade has a gentle, uniform and stable taste, and salted fish is stored for a sufficiently long period of time, since it does not lend itself to spoilage and drying for a long time.
2. Rock salt - used for salting sausages, ham, smoked meats, meat and other things. It has a low impurity content and low humidity.
3. California salt - used for salting, sourdough, canning, as it is clean and soft.
According to the method of processing, food salt is also divided into several types:
1) large - has the most pleasant taste, therefore, suitable for the preparation of any dishes;
2) crystalline salt - most often used in cooking;
3) ground - it is not recommended to use for salting fish, as its quality and taste deteriorate;
4) iodized - it is not recommended to use it in hot dishes (soups and stews), pickles and pickles, as it gives them harshness and worsens their safety.
Salt is equally soluble in hot and cold water, and a certain volume of salt is taken for a certain amount of water. Here we can conclude that when salting, for example, vegetables, you do not need to dilute the salt strictly in hot water, often adding extra grams of it, because you can simply salt these vegetables, which can lead to negative consequences.
In addition, with a decrease in the amount of water in a dish (taking into account its evaporation), the products will become somewhat more saltier, since all the salt will pass into them. That is why the first dishes, cereals, sauces are salted at the end of cooking, and not at the beginning.
Salt in oils behaves quite differently. It dissolves in them in a minimal amount, therefore, when fish, vegetables or meat are fried in oil, it can be salt as much as you want, since excess salt in this case will not enter the products.
Thus, we can conclude that in cooking there is a rule: liquid dishes must be salted at the end of their cooking, and fried - at the beginning of cooking.
It should also be remembered that when it enters water, salt releases heat. This property is used in cooking for quick defrosting of products, as well as for rapid boiling of water.
Without salt, the human body will not be able to function, since it is involved in the regulation of water balance and with its constant deficiency, a fatal outcome can occur. Excessive use of it leads to the development of diseases of the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, joints, as well as increased pressure and metabolic disorders.
Thus, moderate salt intake contributes to the maintenance of all processes in the human body, and, therefore, leads to the formation of good health.