Why you should store salt in your pantry supplies

When it comes to preparing for long-term scenarios, salt often ends up being an overlooked yet surprisingly crucial element. It’s not just a flavor enhancer; salt plays a vital role in food preservation and hydration maintenance, which are essential in survival situations. Over millennia, humans have relied on salt for these purposes, but producing or finding it can be challenging without proper resources. If disaster strikes, you'll likely have to make do with what you already have on hand. In regions not naturally abundant in salt, acquiring it can be quite the ordeal. Remember the story of Lewis and Clark? They established a salt camp in Oregon to boil seawater and extract salt. While they weren’t aware of the nutritional necessity of salt at the time, they understood its importance for seasoning and preserving meat. Today, you can still visit the Lewis and Clark Salt Works and see where this historic effort took place. Interestingly, one of the original motivations behind their expedition was the belief that there was a massive salt mountain near the Missouri River. For more practical tips on stocking essential items from the supermarket, check out the companion article. On a more fictional note, the post-apocalyptic TV series *Jericho* (a favorite among preppers) highlights how a town’s existing salt mine became a significant asset and a point of contention following a nuclear war. Throughout history, access to salt has shaped the rise and fall of cities and empires. Wars have been waged over salt and other spices, and in ancient times, salt was so valuable that it served as currency. The term "salary" actually stems from the Latin word for salt, and the Romans went to great lengths to construct roads specifically for transporting it. Contrary to popular belief, Roman soldiers were not paid in salt, but American soldiers did receive salt brine as payment during the War of 1812. Ben Falk, author of *The Resilient Farm and Homestead*, suggests storing salt alongside other commodities like seaweed and blue-green algae. He argues that many of these resources are sourced from limited areas worldwide and are currently more accessible than ever in human history. Summary: - Salt is obtained either through solar evaporation or mining. - A deficiency in sodium can lead to nausea, fatigue, irritability, muscle cramps, and even seizures or comas if severe. - Beyond diet, salt is used for food preservation, wound disinfection, ice melting, weed control, and cleaning. - Ideal salts to store include kosher salt, pickling salt, iodized table salt, and curing salt. - Salt retains its quality indefinitely as long as kept dry. [Image description: A photo of people collecting salt from a natural source.] --- ### Where Salt Comes From in Nature Salt is abundant in certain parts of the globe. Commercially, it’s extracted in three primary ways: - **Solar Evaporation**: The oldest method involves trapping saltwater in shallow ponds. As the water evaporates, machines harvest the remaining salt. - **Rock Salt Mines**: The second-oldest method involves extracting salt from underground deposits known as halite. The U.S. produces over 5 million tons annually, primarily in Ohio. - **Vacuum Evaporation**: A mechanized version of solar evaporation, where saltwater is heated in large industrial evaporators called vacuum pans. --- ### What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Salt A lack of sodium in your blood is termed hyponatremia. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, confusion, fatigue, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms, seizures, and potentially coma if severe. In the wilderness without access to salt, roots like dandelions and wild animals (especially blood and organ meats) serve as natural sodium sources. Learn more about managing hyponatremia and other critical survival skills in our online course. --- ### Uses for Salt - **Essential Diet Need**: Salt is a vital electrolyte replenished after intense physical activity. Electrolyte drinks like Gatorade contain primarily salt and sugar. [Video: "Idiocracy" clip showing Brawndo's slogan: "It has what plants crave!"] - **Food Preservation**: Salt draws moisture from food, preventing microbial growth and extending shelf life. Techniques include canning, curing, fermenting, cheese-making, and pickling. [Image: A photo of cured hams] - **Animal Hide Preservation**: Preserving animal hides requires salt, whether you're using special chemicals, alum, brains, or wood ash. - **Medical Uses**: Saltwater helps soothe sore throats, clears sinus infections, and cleans wounds effectively. - **Ice Melting**: Sprinkling salt on icy paths reduces slipperiness. - **Weed Control**: Salt acts as a natural herbicide, ideal for eliminating unwanted grasses and weeds. - **Cleaning**: Coarse salt serves as an excellent abrasive for cleaning cast iron pans. --- ### Salts to Consider for Your Pantry Years ago, the salt aisle was straightforward—just table salt and pickling salt. Nowadays, the options are vast. Here are some of my favorites: - **Kosher Salt**: My kitchen staple, kosher salt is coarse and easier to measure precisely than fine table salt. Versatile for cooking, fermenting, cleaning, and even de-icing. [Image: A photo of kosher salt] - **Pickling Salt**: Fine-grained and additive-free, it’s perfect for canning and pickling. Store it in an airtight container to prevent clumping. - **Himalayan Pink Salt**: Trendy in upscale eateries, it’s minimally processed and contains trace minerals. While it lacks proven health benefits over regular salt, it’s visually appealing and slightly nutritious. - **Iodized Table Salt**: Common table salt fortified with iodine to combat deficiencies linked to goiters and cognitive issues. I prefer keeping it around for its affordability and iodine content. - **Curing Salt**: Mixed with nitrites, it’s used for preserving meats. I keep some on hand for future projects. --- ### Storing Salt Salt is one of the easiest items to store. It doesn’t expire, pests avoid it, and sunlight doesn’t affect it. Its main adversary is moisture, though even that rarely poses a problem. Clumped pickling salt can be broken apart easily, so store it in an airtight container once opened. My personal stash remains in its original box, placed in a high, dry location. Avoid basements or flood-prone areas. Some people store salt in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, but this isn’t strictly necessary. Buying salt in number 10 cans is another option, but it’s not essential for most households.

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