Sea Salt

Manufactured by Cargill Salt

People love salt. Among the basic tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty), salt is the hardest to live without. And it’s no wonder because salt gives foods their taste appeal. But salt plays other important roles in food processing. It acts as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms that cause spoilage. It serves as a texturizing aid by strengthening gluten in bread dough; improves tenderness in cured meats and consistency in cheese; and controls fermentation in foods such as baked goods and pickled products. Salt also helps improve color and aroma.

Further, salt’s sodium content is an essential nutrient, a mineral that the body cannot manufacture on its own but which is required for good health and life itself. Sodium helps the body maintain water and acid-base balance, transmit nerve impulses, regulate muscle contractions and absorb and transport other nutrients.

Sea salt is currently enjoying a wave of popularity. Research shows that consumers prefer products with sea salt as an ingredient. By incorporating sea salt into new or reformulated products, food manufacturers are discovering that they can deliver many of the benefits consumers are seeking — products that offer less refined, more natural attributes, along with great taste.

But not all sea salts are the same. Unlike salts collected from ancient geological salt deposits or salty lakes, Cargill’s sea salt is harvested from living oceans and seas such as the Pacific Ocean. Sea salt is made by capturing seawater in shallow ponds where it is allowed to evaporate using nature’s power: the sun and the wind. Over a five year period, the seawater brine is moved from pond to pond, allowing specific salts to crystallize.

Cargill is the leading supplier of sea salt to the food processing industry, offering one of the broadest lines of salt products available:

Purified Sea Salt: a granular, white crystalline sea salt with a characteristic saline taste. It can be used in a variety of food processing applications including salad dressings, cheese, brining and meat processing. Available treated with magnesium carbonate or YPS to improve caking resistance and flowability. Iodized version also available.

Purified Sea Salt Fine: an extra fine granular, white crystalline sea salt with a characteristic saline taste. It is intended for a variety of uses particularly those where alkaline earth metals (calcium and magnesium) must be kept to a minimum. It is recommended for use in products requiring a very fine crystal size for uniform blending. It is ideal for dry soups, cereals, spice mixes and as a topping in snack foods. Contains Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) to improve caking resistance and flowability.

Purified Sea Salt Powder: a pulverized white crystalline powder sea salt with a characteristic saline taste. It is recommended for use in food products requiring extremely fine sizing for blending. It is ideal for use in dry soups, cereals, flours and spice mixes as well as for topping snack foods. Contains Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) to improve caking resistance and flowability.

Sea Salt Grinder: a tightly screened sea salt intended for gourmet products, particularly well suited for use in salt mills and seasoning blends. Contains no anti-caking or free-flowing additives or conditioners.

Sea Salt Extra Coarse Topping: a tightly screened sea salt used in a variety of foods including baked goods, canned or pickled vegetables, dry seasonings/rubs and dry-cured meats. It is intended for applications that are not sensitive to minor inclusions of calcium and magnesium. Contains no anti-caking or free-flowing additives or conditioners.

Sea Salt Topping: ideal for snack foods such as pretzels, crackers and processed tomato products. Contains no anti-caking or free flowing additives or conditioners.