The importance and use of the salt

Salt is mostly associated with salty taste. We think of its existence only when we look into an empty salt shaker and do not have salt for the proverbial potatoes or soup. It is widely available and cheap. Salt surrounds us everywhere. It has been calculated that as a chemical raw material it is present in more than 14 thousands products.

Salt is the most common ingredient in food preparation. You can even run the risk of saying that it is ‘a culinary picklock’ because:

• it is used as a preservative for food (mainly meat, fish and cheese) because salt reduces or stops growth of bacteria;
• salt allows to distinguish flavor of a particular meal as well as flavor of its ingredients. Therefore, it can be treated as the background against which all ingredients may shine;
• Salt impacts color of the meal as well as its flavor, even in case of sweet dishes;
• Salt balances action of yeast and is essential in the process of baking;
• Salt prevents the loss of minerals during cooking vegetables;
• Salt is used as an supplement to feed. It is also used directly in a form of lumps or is compressed first to be used as a so-called lick for livestock and wildlife. Salt improves animals’ appetite and stimulates digestion.

Approx. 70% of the salt is used in the chemical industry. Salt is a raw material in production of various chemical products such as synthetic fibers, plastics, paper, cellulose, dyes, soaps, medicines, chloride, disinfectants,  organic solvents and other.

Sodium chloride is also used in water softening process in industrial plants (salt tablets), in tanning industry for the preservation and tanning of leather and intestines, in textile industry for dyeing, in cooling systems and in cosmetics production.

In winter, salt is used for salting roads, sidewalks, squares to dissolve the snow and ice.