When was the last time anyone saw a sea in the Himalayas? Hint: They didn’t, but maybe an ancient invertebrate did.
Before we dive into this primordial ocean of a misnomer, it’s important to note that all salt in the world is divided into two basic types: rock salt and sea salt. Sea salt is extracted from evaporated sea water and rock salt is found at the site of dried up salt lakes and ancient oceans in its crystal form. So yes, if you want to be technical all rock salt was once sea salt, but that’s like calling your boss “kiddo” because she was young once.
The fact that most of the salt marketed as “Himalayan” is actually mined several miles south of the Himalayas in Pakistan, only adds to the linguistic injustice here.
But even if Himalayan pink sea salt isn’t really sea salt at all or Himalayan most of the time, pink it certainly is. Its unique ballet slipper color comes from mineral impurities in the salt according to SaltWorks, one of the largest gourmet salt companies in the world. But despite what companies might market, those minerals are negligible and don’t actually add any health benefit, experts say, even if they do make for plenty of hashtag-worthy moments.
Take-away: If you like the look and taste of pink salt, by all means keep using it, but know it is not making you any healthier. And even though Himalayan pink salt is less refined than regular table salt, that also means it doesn’t have added iodine, an essential human nutrient. So, as they say, use sparingly.
For further reading: “Salt: A World History” by Mark Kurlansky (2003); “How Pink Salt Took Over Millennial Kitchens,” by Amanda Mull (The Atlantic, Dec. 5, 2018).
