It’s hard to appreciate food without salt; most people feel that a meal is inadequate without it. However, if consumed in excess, it has the potential to be toxic. That is why it is critical to understand which salt is healthier for us.
There are two kinds of salt: white salt and black salt. Aside from their names, they differ in a variety of different ways.
Key Takeaways
- White salt, also known as table salt or refined salt, is the most commonly used salt, consisting primarily of sodium chloride. In contrast, black salt, also known as Kala Namak or Himalayan black salt, is an unrefined salt containing trace minerals and a distinctive sulfurous taste.
- White salt is iodized to prevent iodine deficiency. It is used in various cooking applications, while black salt is commonly used in Indian and South Asian cuisines for its unique flavor and potential health benefits.
- Black salt is believed to have several medicinal properties, such as aiding digestion and relieving heartburn. In contrast, excessive consumption of white salt has been linked to health issues like high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
White Salt vs Black Salt
Black salt, normally called Himalayan salt, is black in color and found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Used in Indian cuisines and has a variety of healing effects. White salt, or common salt, is made up of sodium chloride and is found in many areas of the world. It contains many health benefits due to iodine in it.
White salt is the most used variety of salt in cooking; however, it is always preferred when it comes to health. Salt is necessary for both human and animal health.
White salt, which is widely used as a seasoning, is fine-grained and of high quality. It is used to cure and preserve hides and brine for refrigeration.
Black Salt, also known as Himalayan black salt, is found in India. It is mined in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and other Himalayan countries.
For its holistic, medicinal characteristics, black salt was initially employed in Ayurvedic medicine. It contains many insoluble nutrients, making them difficult to assimilate by the body.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | White Salt | Black Salt |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Sodium chloride without any impurities | A mixture of many salts |
| Odor | No | Yes |
| Type | Sea salt | Rock salt |
| Manufacturing process | Evaporation of seawater | Mined in the regions |
| Uses | Cooking and preservation of foods | Condiments in cooked and raw foods |
What is White Salt?
White salt is made up of 97 percent sodium chloride and 3 percent additional substances that are added throughout the refining process. The main element is iodine, which is used to eliminate the potential for goitre illness.
White salt is sometimes known as table salt. It has been supplemented with iodine to compensate for the lack of this common nutrient, which is essential for avoiding disorders such as goitre and thyroid disease.
However, another fact is that this salt has been heavily processed.
After extraction, it passes through anti-caking, bleaching, and other procedures before arriving at your table. The majority of its native minerals are taken out during all of these operations.
NaCl is the formula for white salt, an ionic substance. It is made up of equal parts sodium and chlorine. Salt crystals are transparent and cubic. It appears white in general, however, owing to the presence of contaminants, it may seem purple.
When salt is dissolved in water, it dissociates into sodium cations and chloride anions, making it a common electrolyte in electrochemistry.
Seawater naturally contains salt. It is extracted from salt mines and produced by the evaporation of saltwater.
However, only 6% of salt is utilized for cooking; the remaining 12 percent is used in the water conditioning process, 8% is used in highway deicing, and roughly 6% is used in agriculture.
The remaining 68 percent is utilized in industries to make polyvinyl chloride, plastics, paper pulp, and other products. When sodium and chlorine atoms mix, common salt, or sodium chloride, is created.
Salt adds significantly to our understanding of historical trade routes. The Via Salaria (Salt Route), which transported Roman salt from Ostia to various regions of Italy, is one of Italy’s oldest routes.
What is Black Salt?
Black salt is a frequent component in Indian cuisine and is widely used in cooking. It has volcanic origins and is composed of Sulphur compounds, which contribute to its odour and flavour. It also contains iron and potassium chloride.
Though there are other forms of black salt, the most prevalent is Himalayan black salt.
It is a rock salt obtained from the salt mines of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and other Himalayan countries. The use of black salt was originally reported in Ayurvedic medicine, an Indian traditional and comprehensive approach to health.
It was traditionally blended with herbs, seeds, and spices before being roasted at high temperatures.
Many black salts are now synthesized from sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, sodium bisulfate, and ferric sulfate.
Before the final product is ready, the salt is combined with charcoal and heated. Impurities such as sulfates, sulphones, iron, and magnesium are present in the completed product and contribute to its color, smell, and flavour.
These pollutants are not likely to be hazardous to your health. Black salt variants have more complex taste characteristics than ordinary salt. It has a sulfurous scent that is peculiar to Asian and Indian cookery.
Remarkably, despite its name, Himalayan black salt is pinkish-brown in hue. It contains considerable levels of potassium, which is required for your muscles to function correctly and aids in the relief of muscular spasms.
Although black salt has numerous health advantages, it, like many other nutrients, may be dangerous when consumed in large quantities. Because black salt includes fluoride and other compounds, it has the potential to interfere with body functioning.
Another downside of black salt is that it contains just a trace quantity of iodine, therefore, consuming black salt alone will not provide enough iodine. As a result, in goitre-prone locations, it is preferable to rely on readily accessible iodized table salt.
Main Differences Between White Salt and Black Salt
- White salt is pure sodium chloride (NaCl) without any contaminants, whereas black salt is a combination of many salts, each of which contributes to the flavour, smell, and color of it.
- White salt has no odour, whereas black salt has a mildly unpleasant odour.
- White salt is a type of sea salt, whereas black salt is a type of rock salt.
- The evaporation of seawater produces white salt, whereas black salt is a natural stone salt extracted in the Himalayan area.
- White salt is more commonly employed in cooking and food preservation than black salt, primarily used as a condiment in cooked and raw dishes. It also has various therapeutic benefits and is utilized in Ayurveda.
- https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/01.hyp.18.6.805
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=46sgCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=white+salt+and+black+salt&ots=TVjLc5v99o&sig=aYXdYNYNlwi-bO6fAHkjIfNPk1g
Last Updated : 26 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
