Salt is a very essential part of every home. It is a very important cooking ingredient. We have different types of salt, Fleur de Sel, Smoked Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, Red, and Black Hawaiian Sea Salt, Rock salt, and Common/Table salt
Each type of salt has its purpose. Salt can be used in cooking, baking, and preservation of food.
Where can I Buy Rock Salt in Nigeria?
You can buy rock salt from online platforms like Jumia, Konga, and Jiji. You can also find it in big supermarkets. Rock salt can also be found in traditional markets, though it might be called under a different name.
While that’s the case, rock salt is not a widely used salt in Nigeria, most people use table salt for all their salt needs. Rock salt is therefore not very popular in some parts of Nigeria.
Rock salt is found in large deposits in some parts of Nigeria like Benue state. It’s mostly white, but it might contain other colors like, green, red, purple, and blue.
Rock salt is produced through the natural evaporation of seawater by the sun. It is contained in sedimentary rocks formed on some salt beds in the Earth’s crust from dried-up lakes and other water bodies.
Uses of Rock Salt
Rock salt is used for making detergents, in the production of ceramics, and also as a dye enhancer in the textile industry. Rock salt is also great for preparing different delicacies it is also used in ice cream production.
Rock salt is a good skincare product. It can be used as an exfoliant and can help to give your skin a beautiful glowy look. You can use rock salt as a scrub or add it to your bath water. It can also be used as a teeth whitener. It is also good for deep cleansing of the skin and it can also be used for hair by adding to hair shampoo. It deeply cleanses the hair and does not remove any of its nutrients.
In food preparation, rock salt is a good preservative and can be used to treat meats like pork belly. It also has a rich taste and if used in the right quantity adds a great flavor to your food.
Benefits of Rock Salt
- Boosts the immune system
- Helps to improve body metabolism
- It helps in treating sore throat
- It aids digestion
- It stabilizes blood pressure.
Problems Associated with Excessive use of Rock Salt
Too much of everything even if that thing is something good, can have bad consequences. The excessive intake of rock salt like any other salt has negative effects on the body. Some of these could be:
- Excessive weight loss
- Kidney failure
- Muscle cramps
- High blood pressure, etc.
Salt: A Naturally Occurring Mineral
Salt is a solid mineral found in the Earth’s crust or extracted from the sea by evaporating the seawater
Salt is a very common mineral resource in Nigeria. The largest salt deposit in Nigeria is found in Ebonyi state. No wonder its slogan is “the salt of the nation”. Other places with large salt deposits are Benue state, Cross River state, Akwa Ibom state, and Anambra state.
Some salts and their different uses
Kosher Salt: it is used for draining blood from meat
Smoked salt: it gives meat and vegetables a smoky rich taste
Hawaiian salt: is used to bless homes and cast out evil omens it is also great for spicing roast fish and poultry.
Sea salt: has bigger particles compared to table salt, but it contains less sodium and it is required in higher quantities. It is a great form of body scrub due to the size of its particles.
Fleur de Sel: it can be used as a finishing salt to garnish food.
It is a very expensive salt due to the process involved in its collection. It also dissolves easily therefore it should be stored properly. It can be added as a topping for snacks like cookies, pretzels, and cupcakes. It can also be added as a topping for eggs and oatmeal.
Other types of salt are Himalayan pink salt and table salt.