Salt investment
 

This seems like a good idea to me and maybe even more based on the recommendations of some here. My question for you though, the 10# resealable bucket for $35 or a 25# bag for $72. I would then use dry can the 25lbs in 1/2 gallon mason jars. Is 25# insane or worth it?

http://www.realsalt.com/shop/10lb_Granular_Bucket.cfm
10 lb Granular Bucket

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.realsalt.com/redweb/share...lar_Bucket.jpg</TD><TD>You've asked us for it and now it's available: A convenient reusable plastic bucket with 10 lbs of our award winning Granular RealSalt.

Price: $34.99


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http://www.realsalt.com/shop/realsalt_bulk_box.cfm

RealSalt Bulk Bag-25 lb



<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.realsalt.com/redweb/share...t_bulk_box.jpg</TD><TD>
Taste the goodness and award-winning flavor of RealSalt.

Price: $72.09


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Re: Salt investment
 

for 30 bucks what have you got to loose really?

Salt doesnt 'go bad', like sugar, so at the very least youll have some salt for a very long time for cooking, table etc. at the most extreme youll have one of the worlds oldest and best natural preservatives on hand to use or sell if you really needed to.

It never hurts to have salt around ;)

Ive got about 10 pounds on hand now myself, kosher and canning mostly, a little iodized that was older and lying around(still good though!)

Re: Salt investment
 

I agree with you but I'm not sure if the 10# bucket of the 25# bag makes more sense. The price is great and I know it would get used. I think my main concern is that the plastic bucket may leach some flavor or aroma into the salt. Any thoughts?

Re: Salt investment
 

Great salt, I love the stuff...that said the bucket is prolly food grade so I doubt that it would leach.

Wait till you see what the shipping cost is.... ;-0

Re: Salt investment
 

I just bought a container of Hain's Sea Salt at WalMart for $1.34. It's 26 ounces which works out to about 85 cents a pound. Wouldn't that be a better deal?

Re: Salt investment
 

Yea but Hain's sea salt is strained through the chest hair of starving sailors, that's why it's cheap. Just kiddin, I'll look that up. I'm just looking for a bulk purchase and the bucket would seem to be handy.

Shipping is $14 but my local Whole foods said they would order it and the cost is going to be about $30 out the door but I'm waiting for confirmation.

Re: Salt investment
 

LMFAO. Thats a very interesting imagine ;)

The wholefoods thing sounds like a good deal, them eating the shipping cost.

As far as storage and flavor. If thats large of a concern get some mylar bags and vaccu pack it with some oxy absorbers. I think the bucket would be just fine.

I get the black boxes of kosher salt and the big green boxes of canning salt(mortons..the girl with the umbrella).
I store them in a pantry thats in the kitchen next to the stove and I've never had a problem with the salt gaining on off flavor. Im cooking in the kitchen at least 2 hours a day, some times 4 or more and the salt just stays in the cardboard boxes. In food service kitchens we usualy have the boxes out in the open too without it losing any quality.

Salt is very durable and shelf stable without absorbing off flavors like baking soda does. SO yeah, the bucket should be fine.

Re: Salt investment
 

Will you let us know what they say, I should have a word with my local Whole Foods...

Re: Salt investment
 

Just make sure you by sea salt/kosher salt/not iodized.

Re: Salt investment
 

Not sure, but I think Hain's is processed, with the essential minerals removed. Real Salt is a better option. Real, unprocessed, salt is vital to good health for many reasons.

Re: Salt investment
 

Goiters, which used to be really common, have disappeared since the advent of iodized salt; I don't know why some folks object to it.

Having said that, I can buy generic iodine-free table salt at the grocery store for 1.5 cents an ounce ($0.39 for 26 ounces.) Compare that to the 18 cents an ounce Codger is considering for sea salt. In a SHTF disaster, I'll be glad to have any kind of salt because it's nearly impossible to cook from scratch without it.

Re: Salt investment
 

Good info from everyone on this.

I'm going with the RealSalt first because of flavor. That's very important to me. In it's mineral content it does have iodine but I think it's less than typical processed table salt. We eat a lot of grass fed beef so we are probably good on iodine goiter protection levels.

I also do a little curing and am a bit curious about how this will add to the mix.

Canning Salt question: What's the difference from kosher?

Also, I think the .18 per ounce is fair if the salt lives up to it's reviews for flavor and health. If it got above a quarter, I might reconsider.

On the Whole Foods front: They didn't return my last email so I am going with Mississippi Markets. They are another local food co-op that carries RealSalt and their purchasing director said they could have one or more in within a few days as they take delivery about 4 times a week. They said the pail was 25# on their sheet. I think it may be the bag in which case I'll just repack it in jars or something. Bucket seems like a fine option though.

Re: Salt investment
 

I disagree, I cook from scratch all the time. I almost never use salt for cooking. (though I don't bake- I'd imagine it may be more necessary there?).
I put salt on food sometimes. Especially eggs, tomatoes, potatoes and meat. I like the realsalt, but I don't view salt as a necessity for cooking.
I agree that people probably should be sure they get enough iodine from their diet without regular table salt, cause you read so much about nutrient depletion in foods.

Re: Salt investment
 

Mercola.com:However, you don't want to use your current table salt. Instead, obtain "real salt." The difference between conventional and "real salt" is that conventional salt is dried at over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. This amount of heat changes the chemical structure of the salt. Also, conventional processing adds harmful additives and chemicals. When you do obtain "real salt," you can use it liberally on your greens, such as kale, to decrease any bitter taste.

Get your iodine from somewhere else. Not from harmful, cheap table salt. Real, unprocessed salt is essential to good health. Cheap salt will deteriorate your body. :coolbeer:

Re: Salt investment
 

In baking salt is rather important, as far as breads/doughs are concerned. Salt reacts with gluten in flour to obtain sepcific results(by shortening gluten strands. Adjusting the salt content allows you control the gluten "web")

as far as cooking. I use sale in cooking, but it is NOT neccessary other than taste. Preserving and curing is a different matter, but sauteing up some veggies etc, salt is there for flavor and thats about all. If you like the food sans salt, then great!

However, for SHTF salt is and will be a NECESSITY. Its a fact of life. Theres a reason that salt was once one of the greatest resources fought over in antiquity.

Id also suggest to all to keep a good supply of whole pepper corns on hand. They pack A LOT of flavor in a small package, and have great medicinal uses as well.

Re: Salt investment
 

...and uncrushed pepper corns last a long long time (decades?)

Course if you live around any place called "_____ lick" then you've got a natural source of salt, and perhaps a small revenue stream...

Re: Salt investment
 

Peppercorns seem to cure anything - have the flu? Eat a load of them. Your arse will be on fire the next day, but you won't have the flu anymore.
As salt goes, I use "lo-salt" - a mixture of both sodium and potassium chlorides. Not only is the low sodium good for you, but the potassium is an essential electrolyte for rehydration should you need it.

Re: Salt investment
 

Agree on real sea salt & peppercorns. Sea salt (used sparingly) adds flavor rather than masks it, when compared to processed table salt. When compared to fresh ground pepper, the stuff that sells as "ground pepper" must be floor sweepings, very little taste and no aroma. I have a grinder of each on my table!

Re: Salt investment
 

Sorry I didn't give you guys an update sooner.

Whole foods never retuned my email. So I went with a local co-op. They ordered the 25# bag which I have transferred into 7 1/2 gallon mason jars (silly I know but I had some extras). The RealSalt is so much better than I thought it would be. It even made a huge difference in cooking plain rice. I'm shocked really.

The Realsalt website sells the bag for about $63 and shipping brings it up to about $95. At first the local market said they had no retail price on it as they never sold it before but they guessed it would be about $85-90. I figured I would buy it from them and support the local economy. When I arrived to pick up the salt, they charged me $62.50. I was floored. I figured with the savings I should add some bulk to my preps. I was going to empty out their organic long-grain Brown rice and decided i should ask a worker if they had more (I figured I would get 5-10lbs). He said they just received a shipment of 25lb bags and I asked if I could just buy one of those. He said sure and fetched the bag. I ended up paying $11 for the rice. The per pound price was $2.49. The cashier, manager and I tried to adjust the price to what it should be, but the bag kept ringing up the same way and they system would not let them change the price. In the end I saved over $80 on 2 items. I doubt this would happen again with the rice, but it appears the salt was a great deal after all.

I have since become a member of the co-op and do my best to buy things at their regular inflated levels to make up for it.

Re: Salt investment
 

You can get a 25lbs bag of salt at costco for 3$. That should be enough salt for a yr for one person.


I'd like to have sea salt, but this is survival food, so regular cheap salt will get the job done.

Re: Salt investment
 

The majority here seems to hold Conk's view on salt. Granted, cheap table salt is processed and may be lacking desirable minerals that would be present in raw sea salt; but it is real salt, nonetheless. Please supply a link for the cheap salt will deteriorate your body argument.

As for the iodine, the majority here also seems to say "iodine bad." Please tell me why. I remember clearly when I was growing up in the 1940s, there were many people walking around with goiters because they could not find adequate sources of iodine in their local diets. When Morton began adding iodine to table salt so that it would not clump in conditions of high humidity (the original meaning of the expression, "when it rains, it pours"), goiters immediately disappeared and I don't remember when I saw one the last time. The main reason for using iodine-free salt for canning foods, is that the iodine can cause some foods like pickles to discolor.

Re: Salt investment
 

Merlin: I'm pro-iodine. The RealSalt I've been referring to is a brand name and my god is it tasty stuff. I would like to know more about the health issues as well. The primary reasons I went with RealSalt are flavor and flavor. My family gets plenty of iodine from elsewhere. Though Iodine is one of the 50+ minerals found in the salt and is the most abundant of them.

Renegade: If I were just storing away a bunch of salt for a shtf scenario, I would probably go your route. I have a deep pantry and rotate my stored goods. It is is constant use and replenishment. The RealSalt has added more flavor than I imagined. I have been using regular table salt for 30+ years and had no idea actual salt could be so good.

Re: Salt investment
 

Mercola.com - Do a search on salt. Plenty of info on how plain table salt is bad.

Iodine is CRITICAL to good health, absolutely critical. No, not the topical junk granny put on your cuts and scrapes. Plenty of good supplement forms out there. Very hard to get it from our diets anymore. Sea Kelp is a good whole food source that comes in pill form.

Re: Salt investment
 

The only reason we use iodine-free salt at home is because my daughter is allergic to iodine. My wife loves the Costco sea salt in the disposable grinder as she can adjust the size of the salt "particle" she dispenses. Whenever we go to Costco (about once a month), we pick up a few of those grinders. I am not much of a disposable person, but I figure it would be hard to keep a grinder from rusting after constant exposure to salt.

We did take advantage of the Costco bag of salt. I cannot remember if it was $3 for the bag, but it was very inexpensive. Figure I will use it for curing meat. I will pick up another bag when we go next weekend.

We also bought the boxes of peppercorns that Costco offers. Very good price and it is easy to dispense out of a grinder. Great flavor.

Re: Salt investment
 

You should really make sure she is allergic to iodine. Perhaps it's the kind added to salt. Give her some sea kelp supplements and see if it bothers her. There is a STRONG correlation between lack of iodine and breast cancer.

Re: Salt investment
 

Yup the flavor is outstanding with "Real Salt". It is all natural, nothing has been added, mined in Idaho I believe 3,000 feet down.

"Real Salt" has been said to actually LOWER your blood pressure. While I didn't buy it for that, but since I have been using it my BP has gone down 10 points give or take.

My wife who never used salt in 40 years, now sprinkles it on all her food. Just a note if you use the same amount that you would use table salt it might be a little to salty. This stuff is strong.

Everyone and I mean everyone who has had supper with us has raved and asked where they can get it.

But I don't use it for canning yet. I still use the Mortons "Pickling salt". I plan on trying it in a couple of jars (in less quantity) just to see, sometime in the next few weeks.

Re: Salt investment
 

Absolutely! The word 'salary' comes from salt. I forget who it was that used to be paid in salt (Roman soldiers?).

The problem with regular, iodized table salt is that it is 99% sodium chloride, only one of the elements in salt. This is an unhealthy product. Stick with sea salt or 'earth salt', they are balanced products with loads of trace minerals that are not in iodized table salt (including gold!).

Salt is money! (Or, it may very well be, after TSHTF.)