🍟Table salt: The edible rock we hate to love

Said no one at your fancy restaurant dinner last week, probably. Try to remain calm, but salt shakers are [vanishing]( from restaurant tables. For chefs in high-end bistros, taking salt off the table is a way to preserve their perfectly calibrated dishes. For [national chains]( it’s about health—almost all Americans consume more than the recommended daily dosage of one teaspoon, an indulgence that’s linked to high blood pressure, which is in turn linked to an estimated [400,000]( deaths each year. With the bad rap table salt gets today it’s hard to believe that this humble seasoning—a staple of American homes—once worked some public health magic. When iodized salt hit the scene in the 1920s, goiters and other serious symptoms of iodine deficiency plummeted across much of the United States. And in ancient times, a shaker full of Morton Salt would have been hugely precious; in ancient Rome, salt was paid out to soldiers as a monthly allowance, called “salarium,” the root of the English word “salary.” (Hence the phrase [“worth one’s salt.”]( So before we banish shakers from the table for good, let’s pay table salt some much-earned respect. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Obsession] Table salt June 05, 2018 “Pass the salt” --------------------------------------------------------------- Said no one at your fancy restaurant dinner last week, probably. Try to remain calm, but salt shakers are [vanishing]( from restaurant tables. For chefs in high-end bistros, taking salt off the table is a way to preserve their perfectly calibrated dishes. For [national chains]( it’s about health—almost all Americans consume more than the recommended daily dosage of one teaspoon, an indulgence that’s linked to high blood pressure, which is in turn linked to an estimated [400,000]( deaths each year. With the bad rap table salt gets today it’s hard to believe that this humble seasoning—a staple of American homes—once worked some public health magic. When iodized salt hit the scene in the 1920s, goiters and other serious symptoms of iodine deficiency plummeted across much of the United States. And in ancient times, a shaker full of Morton Salt would have been hugely precious; in ancient Rome, salt was paid out to soldiers as a monthly allowance, called “salarium,” the root of the English word “salary.” (Hence the phrase [“worth one’s salt.”]( So before we banish shakers from the table for good, let’s pay table salt some much-earned respect. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Giphy Quotable “They’re going to take away our salt shakers!” — [Rush Limbaugh on]( Rush Limbaugh Show, as quoted by]( New York Times]( “My food is seasoned; you don’t need to season it.” — [Restaurant owner Gabriel Stulman to Bloomberg]( By the digits [2.3:]( Grams of sodium it’s safe to consume daily, equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of salt [32:]( Number of single items on PF Chang’s menu that exceed that amount [$0.89:]( Price for a 26-ounce container of iodized Morton Salt [$2 billion:]( 2017 earnings of Morton Salt’s parent company, K+S, the largest salt producer in the world [54:]( Number of countries that are still iodine deficient [476:]( Number of locations of the chain Boston Market in 2012, the year the company announced it would remove all salt shakers from their tables [1:]( Number of salt and pepper shaker museums in the United States [40,000:]( Number of shakers that Andrea Ludden, owner of the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers, has in her collection [5:]( Large buckets of Maldon Salt used by celebrity chef Nusret “Salt Bae” Gökçe per week at his Nusr-Et steakhouse in New York City Reuters/Stringer Fun fact! When iodine was first added to salt in 1924, a quarter of the US population saw their IQ jump [15 points]( or one standard deviation. Today, iodine deficiency remains the [leading cause of childhood brain damage](. An estimated 1.88 billion people, including 241 million school-age children, are still iodine deficient. Glossary Know your salts --------------------------------------------------------------- 💪Iodized: Salt fortified with iodine—or probably just “salt” or “table salt” to you. It was introduced in 1924 to curb iodine deficiency around the Great Lakes, Appalachia, and the northwestern US, known as the “Goiter Belt.” ⛰Himalayan: So… it’s not actually Himalayan at all. This fossilized sea salt, which gets its famous pink color from trace amounts of iron oxide, is mined from the Punjab region of Pakistan. Claims that “Himalayan” salt is healthier than the conventional alternatives are as [misleading]( as the name. 🕍Kosher: These large, flaky, and typically iodine-free crystals are best for drawing out moisture from meat, an important step in the koshering process: “Ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast,” [God says](. 🌊Sea: Crystallized salt from—wait for it—the sea. Not unlike that white stuff you might scrape off an exposed ocean rock, these evaporated marine salts are often unprocessed and retain their natural mineral hues. (The most expensive salt in the world is made by stuffing gray sea salt in a cylinder of bamboo, capped with clay, which is then thrown into a wood-fired furnace. A 2.3-ounce jar of “Bamboo Salt” goes for [$62]( Reuters/François Lenoir Who killed the salt shaker? --------------------------------------------------------------- There are many culprits behind the mystery of the disappearing restaurant salt shaker, as Bloomberg’s Kate Krader [reported last month]( - The cheap salt that shakers were known for delivers “a harsh blast of saline that can blemish the food,” but more expensive salt must be thrown away if people don’t use it. - Chefs like to be in charge of seasoning, and the recent fashion for intense umami, spice, and acid flavors leaves little room for good old sodium chloride. - Tables are crowded—and people like to steal salt shakers. Pop quiz According to mythology, throwing salt over your shoulder brings good luck because it does what? Pays dues to Mother EarthRepels evil spiritsBlinds the devilRepresents a sacrifice to God Correct. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. brief history [1638:]( Louis XIV of France was born—and with him, the pairing of salt and pepper. This king was a notoriously picky eater and preferred food with little seasoning: salt, pepper, and parsley. [1789:]( The French Revolution is fueled in part by a tax on the consumption of salt, from which the nobility and other privileged French were exempt. [1858:]( John Landis Mason, the creator of the Mason jar, invents the first screw-top salt shakers. He saw little profit and was later accused of burning his house to the ground for insurance money. [1911:]( Free-flowing salt is born after Morton Salt adds magnesium carbonate, an anti-caking agent, to their crystals, allowing salt shakers to work. (The company now uses calcium silicate, but has maintained the slogan, “When it rains, it pours.”) [1929:]( The Great Depression fuels the rise of novelty salt and pepper shakers, as ceramic companies shift production to lower-priced items. [1970s:]( Some of the earliest claims that salt causes hypertension are published by Lewis Dahl of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, who fed rats a lot of salt. [2005:]( The US Department of Agriculture publishes its 2005–2010 dietary guidelines, which first recommended that people limit daily sodium intake to 2.3 grams. [2018:]( Salt shaker emoji to be introduced (‼). Watch this! Time spent bored at the kitchen table seems to have paid off for a handful of artists, like Bashir Sultani in the video above, who use spilled table salt as a medium for everything from [celebrity portraits]( to [intricate mandalas](. take me down this 🐰 hole! If you’re looking to fill a salt shaker-sized void in your life, take a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where you’ll find the [Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum](. “There’s almost nothing you can imagine that hasn’t been copied as a salt and pepper shaker,” Ludden told Derek Workman in [Smithsonian Magazine](. Better yet, head to Cleveland, Ohio this summer to attend the annual convention of the [Salt and Pepper Novelty Shakers Club]( of two shaker US clubs. Dancing is not on the agenda. Giphy million-dollar question What about Salt Bae? --------------------------------------------------------------- In a world… where table salt is going extinct… one man… will rise to the challenge. Nusret Gökçe is bringing salt back to the table, one Maldon flake at a time, as the meme-spawning celebrity chef known as “Salt Bae.” His legendary salt-dispensing technique sends the crystal flakes [cascading down his forearm](. His Nusr-Et chain of steakhouses, known for their [eye-popping price tags]( and Instagrammable moments, range from New York to Turkey, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. “You want to hate the place, to dismiss it. There are better, less-expensive, steaks just a few blocks away, dry-aged and funkier than what you’ll find at Nusr-et,” Bloomberg’s Krader writes. “Yet, when Salt Bae shows up to slice and season our steak, it’s embarrassingly thrilling, like watching your favorite cheesy movie.… There’s not a moment that the crowd—a 50/50 mix of business men and women in jackets and tourists in branded sports apparel—isn’t hoisting a camera phone in his direction.” Despite all the theatrics, Eater’s Daniela Galarza notes that Salt Bae’s theatrical salting technique is [actually on point]( chefs have long known, sprinkling salt from on high ensures that it evenly covers your target. Plus, it just looks cool. dubious product alert Before you dash... --------------------------------------------------------------- If you’re looking for Father’s Day gifts—or a ridiculous way to entertain yourself—perhaps you should consider one of these items. [Bug-A-Salt:]( A plastic gun, which you load with salt and fire at bugs? OK. [Smalt:]( A “smart salt shaker” that’s controlled by your iPhone—and Alexa. Oh, and it doubles as a Bluetooth speaker and a mood lamp, too, because why not. AP Photo/Dean Fosdick Poll Do you care if salt shakers disappear from restaurant tables? [Click here to vote]( I’m a clownfish. Salt is life.Don’t take away my dining choices!No, I’m trying to reduce my sodium anyway. The fine print In yesterday’s poll, we asked if you’d ever give up [takeout coffee]( cups—and 40% of you said you’re already living the #tindipper life. The rest were evenly split, with 30% just skipping straws and the other 30% saying “hook me up to an IV already.” Today’s email was written by [Benji Jones]( edited by [Adam Pasick]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. sound off ✏️ [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20table%20salt.&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🤔 [What have you been obsessed with this week?](mailto:obsession%2Bprompt@qz.com?cc=&subject=%0ATake%20us%20down%20a%20rabbit%20hole.&body=) 📬 [Forward this email to a friend](mailto:replace_with_friends_email@qz.com?cc=obsession%2Bforward@qz.com&subject=%F0%9F%8D%9FTable%20salt%3A%20The%20edible%20rock%20we%20hate%20to%20love&body=Thought%20you%27d%20enjoy.%20%0A%0ARead%20it%20here%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femail%2Fquartz-obsession%2F1297227%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20newsletter%20at%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fquartz-obsession) The correct answer to the quiz is Blinds the devil. 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