Salt mills of Woodandform are equipped with universal ceramic grinders

Why should you grind salt and not just use a salt shaker? We are sometimes asked this question when we offer our mills with the universal ceramic grinder of CrushGrind®. Gourmet chefs know that there are many different kinds of salt which are offered in many different qualities.

Even though the main chemical component of table salt, sodium chloride, rock salt, sea salt or crystal salt is the same they are all different.

High quality salts are often offered as coarse grain. Therefore it makes sense to use a salt mill. The taste develops much better the finer the salt is ground. You can experience lovely flavors while using much less salt. The overall reduction in salt consumption is also good for your health.

When table salt is made from rock salt or sea salt it contains about 1% to 3% of its weight in other salts and minerals. Untreated sea salt still contains a residual moisture content of up to 5% water.

Fleur de Sel which is harvested on the Atlantic coast is well known as a delicacy. The “flower of salt” can only be collected on hot and calm days when it can be carefully skimmed from the surface of the evaporation basin by hand using a special wooden tool. It is therefore very expensive, but is very appreciated for its fine mild taste.

Table salt which is offered in grocery markets is usually refined and purified salt. A cleaning process is used to remove unwanted contamination. As a negative side effect this procedure also removes mineral salts and trace elements which are advantageous for health and flavor. The sea salt which is commercially offered in large quantities is cleaned of suspended particles, algae and contains only very small amounts of other minerals.

To improve the consistency of the salt so that it sprinkles easier or to artificially make the salt brighter the industry adds small amounts of other substances to the salt. Typically fluorine and iodine are often added to commercial table salt as a health benefit. However, there is a lot of controversy about these additives. It is not clear if there is an actual health benefit.

Also controversial opinions exist about the advantages of special crystal salts, such as Himalayan salt or halite. There are rock salts which come from special mining regions and contain a mixture of certain natural minerals. For example the so-called Himalayan salt is pink from its high natural content of iron. (Refer to Wikipedia: Halite or Himalayan salt).

In addition to the elements and molecules which can be measured by chemical analysis, there is a wide variety of effects on the taste and our well-being which corresponds to the individual culinary experience.

Perhaps it is more a matter of our dining and cooking culture and ultimately everyone has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different salts and the way to consume them to make a decision for themselves.

We at Woodandform are pleased to introduce you to our wonderful and unique pepper and salt mills, one of the most solid and durable ceramic grinders available on the market and we are sure that you will have a lot of fun when you use our products in the kitchen or at the dining table.

Recently we started offering a special selection of fine salts to use with our mills:
We offer pure halite crystal salt from the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and spicy Alpensalz from the region “Salzkammergut.” The Alpensalz is rich in natural minerals from the primeval ocean and is by nature the purest German rock salt mined from over 1000 meters deep. It was created when the primeval Zechstein Sea dried out. This ocean covered northern and central Germany about 250 million years ago. We also offer sea salt traditionally harvested by hand from the Mediterranean Sea in southern Italian nature reserves.