13 Household Uses For Table Salt

What would we do without salt? If you think about it, salt, both as an ingredient and as a mineral, has been very important for humans. In prehistoric times, salt was used to preserve meat, in ancient Egypt it was used to make mummies, and in both Judaism and Christianity salt was used in ritual and was considered holy (the word "salvation" stems from salt). But above all, salt has always been used for seasoning our food to heighten its flavor, bringing out nuances that we would never notice otherwise. It's obvious that salt has been very important to humankind. But these uses just brush the surface -- the Salt Institute claims that there are more than 14,000 ways to use salt.

We've created a list of our favorite 13 uses for salt in the kitchen, including cleaning up oven spills, removing wine stains, cleaning coffee pots and more. See our slideshow below.

Do you have any unique uses for salt besides seasoning? Leave a comment.

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Comments

[worwon]

09:41 AM on 07/15/2012

U can have fresh eggs by growing up checkens
worwon.com

[Reality always bites]

06:07 PM on 03/27/2012

Clearing ice.
Killing slugs and snails.
Throwing over your shoulder for luck.
Seasoning food.
Preserving food.
Oh this article could have done so much more.
But it has basically defined that there is no use for salt when you wish to determine how fresh an egg is!

[DocsMom]

07:27 PM on 03/26/2012

If an egg floats in clear, unsalted water, it's rotten, so I think the Salt Institute is pulling one over on you. Truly. Check it out.

Garden vegetables or fresh picked produce - pour salt in the rinse water. It'll kill any insects or eggs on the plant.

[Suava]

06:52 PM on 03/26/2012

If you want to keep your cut apples looking fresh ( not turning brown ) soak them in a water with few drops of lemon juice not a salt.You do not want to taste salt on your apple,do you?

[gblank1603]

06:50 PM on 03/26/2012

It's funny to see restaurants advertise "sea salt" as something out of the ordinary--actually all salt is sea salt.

[Suava]

07:04 PM on 03/26/2012

I have to disagree with you. Not all salts are sea salt. There is a salt on a market "sodium chloride" manufactured in chemical plants .It has the same molecular structure as a sea salt,but is not the same.Industrial salt is not a mineral. I called it "industrial " salt. Is more salty then see salt and the taste is much different then sea salt. Restaurants who care about the taste of food they serve, always use pure sea salt ( many different varieties exist).
Happy cooking with a pure sea salt, it is healthy for you proper body function

[Reality always bites]

05:53 PM on 03/27/2012

I agree- I bought some Maldon sea salt.
Iv'e looked everywhere in the atlas and still can't find the 'Maldon sea'

[gobibabi]

03:50 PM on 03/26/2012

I thought if an egg floated in salt water it was a witch . . .

[IrieMoon]

02:31 PM on 04/02/2012

Or a very small rock.

[ayyiyicaramba]

03:29 PM on 03/26/2012

Anyone. Must I use fresh cooking oil everytime I deep fry pork chops? My neighbor told me it's O.K. to fry my pork chops using the "old" oil.

[Suava]

07:08 PM on 03/26/2012

The best oil for frying is a grapeseed oil.It is save to fry in this oil since it takes high temperatures without changing the quality of oil. Never ever use the olive oil to fry anything.
It becomes unhealthy once brought to high ( frying ) temperature.Use a little oil while frying,so you do not need to worry to use it again.

[Reality always bites]

05:56 PM on 03/27/2012

Oh for heavens sake-
Lightly smear pork chops with a good oil (Not extra virgin olive oil- that is best used cold) and then Grill the pork chops.
Much healthier and tastier than deep fried!

[ayyiyicaramba]

06:40 PM on 03/27/2012

@Reality always bites

YOU: ""Oh for heavens sake-""
ME: Give me a break. I'm a single guy who lives alone and whose never been much of a cook. Note: I'm so bad, I never even heard of "grapeseed oil," that is until "Suava" (directly above your post) mentioned it. I will look for it next time I visit the supermarket.

YOU: ""Lightly smear pork chops with a good oil..."
Sadly I guess, I know of only two ways to cook Pork Chops. Deep frying, or baking them in my oven after coating them with those "Shake and Bake" products.

YOU: ""...then Grill the pork chops.""
Would absolutely LOVE to Grill (after sprinkling them with some Goya Adobo) - unfortunately, I reside in an apartment complex where the use or storage of Propane Tanks are prohibited.

[swampbunnyfl]

02:43 PM on 03/26/2012

You don't need no stinkin' salt...plain room temp water is fine. I grew up on a small farm that had plenty of loose chickens running around. We'd find eggs laid randomly all over the place, & since we had no idea WHEN they were laid, that was the only way to check for freshness.

[bostonbakedncali]

03:07 PM on 03/26/2012

They aren't saying check for "freshness" though. They are saying use salt water to check if the egg is "rotten". How about the age old..crack it open...if it smells wretched, it's rotten?

[swampbunnyfl]

04:08 PM on 03/26/2012

Yep, that smell would be a dead give away! Or when you try to crack it & it explodes...another sure sign!

Re: the level of freshness, floating to the surface or bouncing up & down against the bottom meant toss it, (ooh, egg toss!) Tilting up on one end, but still being undoubtedly submerged, meant to hard boil & use it quickly. The latter of the two I don't think I'd suggest w/commercially purchased eggs.

[ppswg]

02:15 PM on 03/26/2012

FACE IT THE CHICKEN IS THE PERFECT FOOD: THEY LAY EGGS, WHICH THERE ARE DOZENS OF FOODS MADE FROM AN EGG, THE MEAT IS DELICIOUS AND NOT BAD FOR YOU LIKE BEEF OR PORK, THE BONES CAN BE BOILED AND MAKE A GREAT STOCK FOR MANY SOUPS, SO THE CHICKEN IS A MAGIC BIRD...

[gblank1603]

06:47 PM on 03/26/2012

Poultry processors use every bit of a chicken--the feet, beaks and feathers are all sold along with the inerds.

[ppswg]

07:09 PM on 03/26/2012

I KNOW, I AM IN THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY....THEY ARE A MAGIC BIRD...FOR REAL........HOWEVER AT SOME POINT IN TIME THEY MAY BE OUR NEMESIS, THEY ARE LIKE A WALKING PETRE DISH...THE POSSIBLITY OF A SERIOUS BIRD FLUE COMMING FROM THIS INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY IN REMOTES AREA OF CHINA....IS SCARY; I AM CONVIENCED THAT A BIG TIME FLUE IS IN THE WIND, EVENTUALLY...SCARY THOUGHT.

[Reality always bites]

06:00 PM on 03/27/2012

You forgot to mention the golden goose or the duck!
Eggs from ducks and geese are just as versatile.
Duck meat is particulary tasty.
(And if you get a golden egg from the goose- you are rich)
Chickens- pah!

[ladybugsfavgrand]

01:48 PM on 03/26/2012

An egg that floats in any water is rotten-the reason a rotten egg floats is when the yolk and white begins to break down it produces gas that collects in the shell

[Artist E Hall]

01:48 PM on 03/26/2012

I have boiled many an egg. Many an egg, many an egg. It's foul stench did fill my house with dread. It took days to defoul my house from that foul stench of that dastardly egg. I wanted to make my mother's egg potato salad but I only had a house filled with the dread of a rotten egg.

[Reality always bites]

06:01 PM on 03/27/2012

Maybe you should have cooked the potatoes first!

[Artist E Hall]

01:42 PM on 03/26/2012

I sometimes add a dash of salt and pepper to my fruit, mostly apples, pears and melons. If the melon isn't very sweet, it makes it taste better. I have trouble picking fresh eggs. This egg trick can't work unless your at home. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to 1 cup of water. Place an egg into the solution to see if it's fresh -- a bad egg will float because it has more air trapped inside. Just need to be careful to check that expiration date !!!

[AmNeverWrong]

12:45 PM on 03/26/2012

Save the salt - if the egg smells like the men's room at Taco Bell, then it's surely rotten.

[Artist E Hall]

01:43 PM on 03/26/2012

LOL.

[jackc14530]

11:52 AM on 03/26/2012

What a stup**id article.. The friceken salt has nothing to do with the egg floating.

[Artist E Hall]

01:43 PM on 03/26/2012

LOL.

[MVEMJSNUP]

02:28 PM on 03/26/2012

An egg that floats in fresh water is spoiled, but since salt water is denser than fresh water, the egg will float easier, and it will catch them earlier in the spoiling process. By using salt water instead of fresh water it will help catch these eggs that are borderline. An egg that floats in salt water but sinks in fresh water won't taste bad, but could be spoiled enough to make you sick.

[domusmagistra]

02:43 PM on 03/26/2012

An egg that's very fresh will lay on its side at the bottom. An egg that's borderline will touch bottom, but will be upright (but I've been told it's still okay to eat). You still don't need salt to find the borderline eggs.

[jackc14530]

04:39 PM on 03/26/2012

Well, since i can NOT refute that, i guess i should say thank you. :) I never knew that. Since i am almost 70, i think i'll just put the salt on the cooked egg and enjoy it :))) like i have done for WELLLLLLLLL close to 70 years :)))

[natal plum]

11:36 AM on 03/26/2012

Kills garden slugs too.