Salt & Sugar – Precious Gifts from Sea, Rock and Soil
“So expensive that the only the very wealthy could afford it, salt was considered more precious than gold. It was a rare, expensive luxury item because, in large part, of the difficulty faced extracting it.”
Cities were built to mine salt, and wars were fought over it. The two forms of salt come either from the sea “sea salt”, or from land-based mines “rock salt”. Today, salt is the most common seasoning and preservative, found in kitchens and on dining tables throughout the world. Although often unfairly vilified in many present day cultures, sugar is also an essential part of our daily lives. Simple sugars should provide 10 – 12% of our bodies daily energy. Sugars occur naturally in a variety of fruits and vegetables, but most sugar is produced from beets and sugar cane. Sugar cane is most appreciated by the palate in its raw form than sugar derived from beets, as it maintains a pleasant taste that enhances the sensory experience.
These ingredients form in integral part of our daily cooking and at times, a simple dish just would not be complete without it.
"Happy seasoning!"