On salt

I'm a bit fussy when it comes to using salt in food.  Not in quantity but in type.  I only ever use two kinds; Maldon Sea Salt and Smoked Maldon Sea Salt.  The former I use in everything that needs salting and the latter is great sprinkled over salads etc as a salty bite.

I keep mine ready to hand next to the hob in a lovely little salt pig I bought a few years ago from a pottery shop in Canterbury.

One of my recent charity shop buys is a book by Mark Kurlansky called Salt - A World History.  I'm only a little into it; I've reached the Egyptians so far - but already found out some fascinating facts.

The Latin for salt is 'sal' (which I did know thanks to my O Level Latin!) but I didn't know that this was the root of the words 'salary' and 'salad'.  Salary has its origins in Roman soldiers often being paid in salt; a valuable commodity at the time and already known to be a necessary part of the survival diet.  Salad came about from the Romans 'salting' their greens as a flavour enhancer.

I'm sure this won't be the first time I bore you with some more 'salient' facts over the next few days!