This substance, which we can easily access nowadays, actually has an unpredictably long and striking history. This indispensable mineral, which was very difficult to produce and distribute in the first days of its discovery, has passed through many phases since then.
So where and when did salt, which has been of great importance to people for centuries, appear and how did it become a part of our meals?
In addition to its function of flavoring the food, salt is one of the most basic substances necessary for human life.
The sodium ions in salt contribute greatly to the preservation of fluid in the blood cells, the absorption of nutrients by the small intestine, and the fulfillment of many essential functions in the body.
For this substance that our bodies cannot produce, people were in a constant search to meet their salt needs. The first humans met this need from meat in the first place, and after switching to agriculture, they followed the animals that went to salt deposits to reach more salt.
The discovery of salt dates back to China, about 8,000 years ago.
It is believed that the Chinese, who believed that salt was obtained from a lake in the Shanxi province of China at that time, waged various wars for this substance in order to control this lake and to maintain the salt supply. Salt was then collected from lakes where the water evaporated and the layers of salt were exposed, especially during the dry seasons.
For the ancient people, this mineral was not indispensable because each people had their own salt sources during the period. But until the use of salt as a commercial material, this substance was limited to certain regions.
Realizing the protective properties of salt, the Egyptians began to collect this substance from the Nile marsh.
These people, who discovered that the sodium in the salt attracts the moisture that causes bacteria in the food and dries the food, made it possible to store meat and fish for a long time in this way, and salt began to be used as a kind of canned food.
The public, who spends about 8% of their monthly expenditure on buying salt, tried to include this substance in their meals and also faced heavy fines for overuse of salt for salting.
In addition, with the discovery of the preservative property of salt, the mummies began to be salted and the mummies left in the Nile River were taxed under the name of “salted meat”.
Although there are sources that the Egyptians, who also used salt for religious offerings, were the first practices that salted meat and fish; The earliest Chinese documents regarding these foods being stored in salt date back to 2000 BC.
A Chinese treatise dating back to 2700 BC mentions 40 different types of salt, and this source refers to the making of salt in Egyptian art.
Also, in Ancient Greece, slaves were exchanged for salt, Roman soldiers often received their salaries with salt, and this is where the phrase “not worth the salt” came from.
The meaning of the English word “salary” (salary) was also based on this context, and “salad” (salad) also emerged from the English word “salt” for salt, and this word originated from the Romans salting leafy greens and vegetables.
With the start of the salt trade, many small cities started to develop and some countries used salt as a means of payment in the past.
Large sums were paid for this precious substance in the Middle Ages and beyond, and what made salt valuable at this point was the grueling transport and involvement of trade. In addition, Romans, Venetians, French, Chinese and many other governments brought salt tax to earn money for wars.
During the period, salt was so precious that salt was sent to Africa by caravans and gold, diamonds and jewels were bought in return.
Salt was used as a remedy for many diseases by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance when medicine was not developed enough.
In addition to the fact that the salt, which was sent from Cappadocia to Rome with pottery in the 17th century AD, was very good for the skin and gave it light, Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna also stated that the use of this substance could cure the problems.
While salt was used in Ancient Egypt to control bleeding, to speed up labor and to make eye drops; In Rome, this mineral was used to cure skin diseases, earaches, fungi and edema.
Nowadays, salt is a flavor that we can easily reach whenever we desire.
The production of salt has become more widespread today than in the past, and it has always been at hand rather than being a sought-after substance. Table salt, made up of the elements sodium and chlorine, has become a sought-after flavor in our meals over time, and this use is likely to remain indispensable forever.
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