[Sca-cooks] sea salt vs. white-salt

[Stefan li Rous]

Olwen asked:
> I wonder what means "and as much white-salt as will make it bear an egg".
> Bay salt?  Perhaps sea salt would do in place.

"Bay salt" is/was salt processed from seawater using solar heat in large,
shallow ponds. It was known in the Middle Ages for often being off-white
or brown and often had contaminants like sand and other stuff in it. Not
only was this salt cheaper than those from other sources such as brine
springs or sea water that had been boiled using fuels, but it was better
for food preservation because the salt crystals were larger due to the
slower evaporation time. Bay salt was made on the Atlantic shores of
France. Perhaps the Mediterranean, but I can't remember for sure.

So "sea salt" is bay salt but more generic, and these days refined to
a higher degree. Also if the evaporation is done with artificial heat
sources or accelerated using vacuum methods, the salt crystals will be
much smaller and uniform than the medieval "Bay salt".

There are period recipes given for further purifying "Bay salt" when
desired.

I assume "white salt" is "Bay salt" that has been further refined or
more likely the result of coming from brine springs or by heating
seawater over fires, or both.


>>then take as much spring water as you think will cover
>>them, put in a pund of bay salt, and as much white-salt as will make it
>>bear
>>an egg; dry your bay salt and pund it, it will melt the sooner;'

This may mean put in a pound of bay salt, since it is cheaper, and
then top it off with some of the more expensive salt, enough to float
an egg. Since you are disolving it in water, I think any salt would
do. Sea salt might vary the taste a little, but not very much. Cooks
Illustrated did a comparison of different salts recently and there
conclusion was that except in a few instances it was difficult to
tell them apart and if you were making a brine or otherwise disolving
the salt, don't bother buying the expensive stuff.

This quote does however, back up other comments on the Bay salt having
bigger crystals. In this case, the bigger crystals not being an advantage.

Stefan li Rous
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com