SALT HAS INFLUENCED HISTORY “ Salt goes back to the beginning of civilization , thousands and thousands of years ago ,” Eubanks states . “ In times and places , salt was used as a kind of currency . It was traded for gold , especially in Roman times and in Africa .” Salt isn ’ t found everywhere , so people in places that didn ’ t have easy access to it were willing to trade for it .
As humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to agriculture , they needed to add more salt to their diets since vegetable diets didn ’ t include much sodium . They also started raising animals for meat , and those animals needed salt . Eventually , people discovered that salt could preserve food , especially meat and fish , or through canning . “ For the majority of human history , salt provided a way for us to trade food over long distances ,” Eubanks explains .
Historians believe that salt was harvested in China around 6000 BC . “ Salt played a critical role for China . A lot of the funding for the early Chinese empires came from the production and trade of salt ,” Eubanks notes .
In ancient Egypt , people began curing meat and fish with salt well before the Chinese did . Mark Kurlansky , in his book , “ Salt : A World History ,” explains that they also domesticated birds for food — ducks , geese , quail , pigeon and pelican — and salted them before storing them in earthenware jars . They discovered that softening olives in brine made them edible . They traded their salted fish with the Phoenicians , exchanging it for cedar , glass and dye .
Salt played a role in European history as well . “ Roman emperors would give out salt to everyday people in order to boost their popularity ,” Eubanks says . Romans sometimes paid soldiers with salt . That ’ s where we get the word “ salary ” and the expression “ worth his salt .” Eubanks elaborates , “ A lot of the roads in Italy and throughout the old Roman empire would go past places where they were making salt when they were originally built . Some of those roads are still around .” Salt was a significant factor in the war between Venice and Genoa since both wanted to control the Mediterranean salt trade .
SHAPING THE UNITED STATES You might not think that salt would play such a major role in the history of a relatively young country like the United States . Kurlansky wrote that the meandering roads of North America follow the routes they do because they were often the paths animals took as they searched for earth ’ s natural salt licks . The licks turned out to be good places to settle , and villages popped up near them . One , where buffalo came to lick the salt , is now called Buffalo , New York .
When the British settled in New England , they struggled to make enough salt to preserve their fish for export . The colony of Massachusetts granted what is considered the first patent in America , for salt production . Later , British embargoes against the U . S . drove the price of salt from 50 cents to $ 8 per bushel .
New Englanders used lots of salt for boiled dinners of salt beef or salt cod with root vegetables . They also ate a lot of salted red herring , and when they hunted , they would drop herring on the trail to distract wolves . That ’ s where we get the phrase “ red herring ,” Kurlansky wrote . Virginians used salt too . They salted pork fat , and eventually , that ’ s how Virginia hams earned their fame .
In the Caribbean and England , it ’ s easy to make salt . You can mine it or let ocean water evaporate under the sun . “ It ’ s much harder to go to a salt spring , collect salty water , and then boil it for hours and hours ,” Eubanks says . “ It ’ s not a very efficient process .”
THE MANY USES OF SALT Cooking and seasoning food probably come to mind when you think of salt . But there are countless other ways to use it . It can exfoliate your skin , alleviate a bee sting and energize your tired feet . It can even put out a grease fire and pull the minerals out of hard water . Anyone who has lived through a cold winter probably has driven a car covered in salt residue from de-icing driveways , sidewalks and roads .
Salt has built a reputation for its healing properties and immersing yourself in a salt room is touted for curing respiratory and skin conditions , alleviating allergies , improving feelings of wellness and even combating electromagnetic fields .
As people discovered more practical uses of salt , it also earned mystical qualities throughout the world . Kurlansky shared a few examples . Anglo-Saxon farmers placed ‘ magic ingredients ,’ including salt , in a hole in their plows to encourage good harvests . Japanese actors thwarted evil spirits with a sprinkle of salt on the stage . Afro-Caribbeans believed that eating salt would keep spirits away .
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36 SEA ISLAND LIFE | FALL / WINTER 2022 / 23