About Table Salt

[hazelm]

Am I right that table salt should be 60% salt and 40% sodium?  Is it still pure table salt if it contains silicoaluminate, potassium iodide, dextrose and sodium bicarbonate?  I ask because it doesn't taste like table salt and is much finer grind.  Thank you. 

[exchemist]

Am I right that table salt should be 60% salt and 40% sodium?  Is it still pure table salt if it contains silicoaluminate, potassium iodide, dextrose and sodium bicarbonate?  I ask because it doesn't taste like table salt and is much finer grind.  Thank you.

 

Hazel, you have got this a bit garbled. The formula for table salt is NaCl. The atomic mass of Na is 23. For Cl it is 35.5 (it is not a whole number due to the mixture of isotopes that Cl consists of in nature.) So the molecular weight of NaCl is 23+35.5=58.5, which means it consists of about 40% Na and about 60% Cl.

 

The other chemicals you mention are probably additives, present in small amounts, to stop it clogging in humid conditions and for your health (iodide is added to prevent iodine deficiency for instance see goitre). The fineness of the crystals is a matter of choice in the supermarket.

[hazelm]

Hazel, you have got this a bit garbled. The formula for table salt is NaCl. The atomic mass of Na is 23. For Cl it is 35.5 (it is not a whole number due to the mixture of isotopes that Cl consists of in nature.) So the molecular weight of NaCl is 23+35.5=58.5, which means it consists of about 40% Na and about 60% Cl.

 

The other chemicals you mention are probably additives, present in small amounts, to stop it clogging in humid conditions and for your health (iodide is added to prevent iodine deficiency for instance see goitre). The fineness of the crystals is a matter of choice in the supermarket.

But, isn't that what I said?  Oh - 60% chloride.    All right.  But, you see,  if I'd known the answer I wouldn't have had it garbled. 

 

Good morning and keep cool if you can.  Hazel

[exchemist]

But, isn't that what I said?  Oh - 60% chloride.    All right.  But, you see,  if I'd known the answer I wouldn't have had it garbled. 

 

Good morning and keep cool if you can.  Hazel

It was raining here in Brittany this morning. Now it has cleared and we have 21C, with a breeze off the sea. More rain forecast for tomorrow.

[OceanBreeze]

What was the salt that used the advert "when it rains it pours" meaning that the salt would always pour no matter how wet the weather.

 

Did it have a special additive?

[OceanBreeze]

I see that it was Morton Salt and the additive was calcium silicate (CaSiO3). Calcium silicate can absorb a whole lot of liquid while still remaining a free-flowing powder. It can absorb, in fact, 1 to 2.5 times its own weight in liquid but when it comes to water, our chief concern, its absorption capacity is more like 600%. Yes, that’s right, it means this stuff can absorb 600 times its weight in water. 

 

The above is what I found on this site.: https://culinarylore.com/food-science:morton-salt-when-it-rains/

 

I think they mad a mistake when they say the absorption capacity is 600% and that it can absorb 600 times its weight.

 

600% should be 6 times its weight.

Edited August 5, 2019 by OceanBreeze

[exchemist]

I see that it was Morton Salt and the additive was calcium silicate (CaSiO3). Calcium silicate can absorb a whole lot of liquid while still remaining a free-flowing powder. It can absorb, in fact, 1 to 2.5 times its own weight in liquid but when it comes to water, our chief concern, its absorption capacity is more like 600%. Yes, that’s right, it means this stuff can absorb 600 times its weight in water. 

 

The above is what I found on this site.: https://culinarylore.com/food-science:morton-salt-when-it-rains/

 

I think they mad a mistake when they say the absorption capacity is 600% and that it can absorb 600 times its weight.

 

600% should be 6 times its weight.

There seems to be some inconsistency here about which silicate it is. It looks to me as if it is the orthosilicate Ca2SiO4 that is the anti-caking agent. CaSiO3 seems to be a mineral called wollastonite, used in tile manufacture. Probably a bit crunchy to have in your table salt.

[hazelm]

What was the salt that used the advert "when it rains it pours" meaning that the salt would always pour no matter how wet the weather.

 

Did it have a special additive?

That was Morton's.  Morton's seems hard to find nowadays.  That is what brought on this search.  I went to two stores and found no Morton's.  So, bought another brand.  It is much finer than Morton's ahd doesn't much taste like table salt.  If I remember rightly - sitting in here and too lazy to walk to kitchen - it is only 30% sodium.  I don't know whether that matters or not.  Just know I want my Morton's back.  I grew up on that.  And it stressed the added iodide which we called Iodine.  Supposed to prevent goiter.  Don't hear much about that any more.

[exchemist]

That was Morton's.  Morton's seems hard to find nowadays.  That is what brought on this search.  I went to two stores and found no Morton's.  So, bought another brand.  It is much finer than Morton's ahd doesn't much taste like table salt.  If I remember rightly - sitting in here and too lazy to walk to kitchen - it is only 30% sodium.  I don't know whether that matters or not.  Just know I want my Morton's back.  I grew up on that.  And it stressed the added iodide which we called Iodine.  Supposed to prevent goiter.  Don't hear much about that any more.

It sounds as if you have bought a reduced sodium salt, in which a proportion of it is potassium chloride (KCl) instead of NaCl. It is recommended for people with high blood pressure. My mother used that towards the end of her life and she complained it did not taste the same. I think all table salt in the UK is iodised by law to prevent iodine deficiency. Don’t know about the US.

[hazelm]

It sounds as if you have bought a reduced sodium salt, in which a proportion of it is potassium chloride (KCl) instead of NaCl. It is recommended for people with high blood pressure. My mother used that towards the end of her life and she complained it did not taste the same. I think all table salt in the UK is iodised by law to prevent iodine deficiency. Don’t know about the US.

My thought also.  Not for me.  I am one of the rare exceptions in that I am low on sodium, not high.  Potato chips are welcome here.  Only our potato chip maker is reducing the salt in their chips. Next time I see  Mortons,  I shall buy some extra. 

 

Thanks.  Hazel

[fahrquad]

What was the salt that used the advert "when it rains it pours" meaning that the salt would always pour no matter how wet the weather.

 

Did it have a special additive?

 

That would be Morton's Salt.  The label lists Salt, Calcium Silicate (anti caking agent), Dextrose, and Potassium Iodide as ingredients.  As Exchemist mentioned, Iodine is added to prevent goiters.  Iodine is used by the thyroid gland to produce Thyroxine and the lack of Iodine causes the thyroid to swell resulting in the characteristic neck bulge.  People who live near the coast get plenty of Iodine from seafood, but people living inland would be susceptible to goiter, which prompted the addition of iodine.  People with low Thyroxine levels have depressed metabolic rates and other issues.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid_hormones

[fahrquad]

My thought also.  Not for me.  I am one of the rare exceptions in that I am low on sodium, not high.  Potato chips are welcome here.  Only our potato chip maker is reducing the salt in their chips. Next time I see  Mortons,  I shall buy some extra. 

 

Thanks.  Hazel

 

I have never been much of a salt user, only adding it to boiling water when preparing pasta or sprinkling on onion rings, but at my last blood work I was low on both sodium and chloride and high on potassium, so now I am adding salt to just about everything.

Edited August 21, 2019 by fahrquad

[hazelm]

I have never been much of a salt user, only adding it to boiling water when preparing pasta or sprinkling on onion rings, but at my last blood work I was low on both sodium and chloride and high on potassium, so now I am adding salt to just about everything.

Do you suppose this situation is becoming more prevalent because so many companies are reducing the amount of sodium chloride in their products?   I have a friend who - with a heart condition - has to measure and report her potassium level daily, lest she get too much potassium which  is easier done than one would think.  We can't win for losing.

[fahrquad]

Do you suppose this situation is becoming more prevalent because so many companies are reducing the amount of sodium chloride in their products?   I have a friend who - with a heart condition - has to measure and report her potassium level daily, lest she get too much potassium which  is easier done than one would think.  We can't win for losing.

 

In my case the long list of medications I was on were responsible for excess excretion of certain minerals, such as magnesium, zinc, chloride, and sodium.  The severe depletion of magnesium (Hypomagnesemia) is what killed me twice (convulsions and cardiac arrest).  I suggest that your friend not take Spironolactone, Furosemide, and Omeprazole without careful monitoring of electrolyte levels if she is a diabetic.  The Furosemide depleted my Magnesium, while the Spironolactone increased my Potassium retention interfering with kidney function.  This incident was a result of a fragmented US health care system since my cardiologist and gastroenterologist did not know what each other had prescribed or the potential interactions.  The Spironolactone and Furosemide were discontinued, and I have been taking 1200 mg of Magnesium Sulfate since I was discharged from the hospital, which is about 4 times the minimum RDA.

 

https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/endocrine-and-metabolic-disorders/electrolyte-disorders/hypomagnesemia

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002423.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4962887/

Edited December 11, 2019 by fahrquad

[hazelm]

Found it!  Morton Iodized Salt.  Ingredients just as someone listed them above:  salt, calcium silicate (an anti-caking agent), dextrose, potassium iodide.  I grabbed a box. 

[sciencechemistry]

Others doesn't table salt because table salt is the specific name of the NaCl. That's so it can eat. Others can use many chemical reactions but they not table salt.

 

 

[bestwork1989]

hi 

 

it consists of about 40% Na and about 60% Cl.