Salt is the cornerstone ingredient of any kitchen, but out with your cupboard, how much do you really know about it? With more than 14,000 known uses – food, water softening, pharmaceutical, industrial, aquaculture, tanning, animal feed, cosmetic and more - it’s one of the most versatile minerals on the planet.  
Vital for the food industry, whether you’re seasoning chips, baking bread or curing meat, salt plays a vital role not only in flavour, but also in various processes and preservation methods.  
But not all salts are the same, so what’s the difference between sea salt, rock salt and table salt? And where does it all come from? 


Where Does Salt Come From? 
All salt essentially comes from the sea. Even salt mined from earth was once an ancient sea which has long since evaporated leaving behind vast salt deposits. 


Sea Salt 
How it's made: Sea salt is created by evaporating seawater. There are many different ancient and indigenous methods used to achieve this, native to country and climate - but the most commonplace natural method is using salt pans. Salt pans are shallow baths used, usually in warmer countries, where salty seawater is evaporated off by the sun in salt pools graduating to increasingly concentrated pools until saline enough for crystals to form. 

Texture and flavour: Sea salt tends to have larger, irregular crystals and a bright, crisp flavour. Because it’s less processed, it may contain trace minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium – which can slightly affect the colour and taste. 


Rock Salt 
How it's made: Rock salt (also called halite) is mined from underground salt deposits left behind by ancient oceans that dried up millions of years ago. Often in the form of large chunks or crystals, rock salt can be left unrefined or ground into finer particles. Himalayan pink salt is considered rock salt and comes from a singular mine in Pakistan.  

Fun fact: Some of the world's rock salt is hundreds of millions of years old. In the UK, we have significant rock salt deposits in Cheshire!

 
Table Salt (PDV or Vacuum Salt) 
How it's made: Table salt is highly refined. It’s usually mined or evaporated, then purified and stripped of trace minerals. Anti-caking agents are added to keep it free flowing. Table salt typically starts out as one of the above, but it goes through a refining process to purify it, removing all other elements before it ends up in your shaker. 
 
Extras: In many countries, iodine is added to table salt to prevent iodine deficiency, which can affect thyroid function. 


In a Pinch: Choosing the Right Salt 
If you're after texture and flavour, go for sea salt. 
If you need a clean, consistent salt for baking , table salt (PDV) is your go-to. 
If you want to explore more rustic or mineral-rich options – give rock salt a try. 

Salt might seem simple, but there’s a whole world of flavour in those tiny crystals.