Refining salt

I have returned to the supermarkets take another look at ingredients listed on salt product labels.
You may think this a rather strange thing to do and you may be asking the question “Isn’t it just salt? What else can there be?”

I’m here to tell you there are other ingredients in with some of the salt products. I’m sure you will know about iodine and it is stated quite clearly on the label if the salt is iodised.

However there are anti-caking agents; the infamous numbers who make up part of our diet whether we are aware of it or not. The numbers here are 535/536, and 554. These will be found in the ‘pouring’ salts; the table variety and the cooking variety.

According to the information I found, when searching on the internet, 535 and 536 are sodium and potassium ferrocyanides respectively and are used as an anti-caking agent. Cyanides are found in some seeds and fruit stones and now you can have it in your salt. How good is that? The additive 554 sounds almost likeable – it is produced from a natural mineral making it almost acceptable. As I have lived a relatively salt-free life for some 30 years now none of this bothers me too much.

These additives are introduced to make our lives easier. Who wants lumpy cooking salt or a salt shaker that is clogged up every time you want to use it? We are very busy people these days; we want salt which pours instantly. Long gone are the days of solving the clogged shaker problem by putting a few grains of rice in the salt shaker.

Of course if you use the sea salt or rock salt varieties, without added iodine, there are no additives and the grinder in which most of this salt is packaged is free of any pouring problems.

And for all you people who have read to this point here is a link which will tell you a whole lot more about the history and use of salt in Australia.

I’m taking the easy road here and will be using Australian sea salt without any additives of any kind – my choice is McKenzie’s Australian natural sea salt. This way I don't have to concern myself about the country of origin for the additives - taking the additives out of the equation reduces the work load.

I’m off to the supermarket to get another addition to my Ausfood cupboard.

The 400 series

Curious about the 400 series of numbers appearing on the Gundowring ice-cream label list of additives, I made further investigations.

And at this website I found the following:

412 Natural stabiliser

Guar gum Derived from the Seeds of Cyamoposis tetragonolobus of Indian origin; fed to cattle in the US; can cause nausea, flatulence and cramps, may reduced cholesterol levels. See 410.

415 Xanthin gum

Derived from the fermentation of corn sugar with a bacterium. Improves 'flow'.

410 Locust bean (Carob gum)

Derived from Carob or Locust bean tree Ceratonia siliqua. As a thickener, vegetable gum, artificial sweetener base, modifying agent or stabiliser, it is used in lollies, cordials, essences, some flour products, dressings, fruit juice drinks; frequently used as a caffeine-free chocolate substitute; may lower cholesterol levels.

407 Carrageenan 'Irish Moss'

Fibre extracted from seaweed, used as a setting agent. It has recently been linked with cancer because it may become contaminated when ethylene oxide is added to an inferior product, this results in ethylene chlorohydrins forming, a highly carcinogenic compound; linked to toxic hazards, including ulcers and cancer; the most serious concerns relate to degraded carrageenan, which is not a permitted additive; however, native carrageenan, which is used, may become degraded in the gut.

The above fall under the headings of Vegetable Gums, Emulsifiers and stabilisers. According to this source of information, emulsifiers help prevent separation of oil and water mixtures and stabilisers maintain the uniform dispersal of substances in food.

In other words, no nasty lumps in the finished product.

An ideal always aimed for in the home kitchen, where the rectification of problems are not achieved with the help of additives, but by falling back on tried and true methods of putting wrongs right in the bowl or saucepan as the cook prepares the dish or meal.