Black salt with other names as Kala Namak and Sanchal is a popular Indian condiment used in many traditional recipes. The flavor of foods can be enhanced with black salt’s high sulfur content adds a unique spicy aroma distinctively different from other salts you can buy.
In this article, you’ll learn everything there is to know about the history and it uses, as well as how to make black salt at home.
To make black salt, boil a variety of dried sedimentary rock called Trapiche Salt or Potash, and then mix it with water. After mixing the solution, boil it again to evaporate all the water until the final product is black.
Most commercially-available black salts are made by adding ingredients like charcoal, oil, or animal ingredients to common table salt. But if you want an all-natural alternative, then continue reading for the step-by-step guide.
What Is Black Salt?
Black Salt is a variety of dried lava salt found naturally in the water of hot springs, rivers, and volcanic areas. The color of black salt comes mainly from the high mineral content of sulfur, iron oxide, and copper oxide. It adds an earthy taste to food and a distinctive burnt aroma.
It is not black but rather a deep purple color. This natural form of salt plays an integral role in the culinary traditions of many cultures worldwide.
Also known as Kala Namak, it is referred to as black salt in English for its color. It comes with a distinctive taste and odor and is often ground into a powder used to season food.
Moreso, it is a variety of very common salt mined from the earth and dried. It is considered beneficial to health, although it has more flavor than common table salt.
In addition, as a nutritional dietary supplement, It is also used as a spice in Indian cooking and aid digestion.
Moreso, it’s traditionally used as a condiment to add flavor to food but is also perfect for treating skin conditions like eczema, chapped lips, or insect bites.
It is a mineral-rich and super healthy substitute for regular table salt.
However, That distinctive salty taste is due to the inclusion of trace amounts of minerals such as magnesium and calcium in sea salt. But nowadays, manufacturers use an industrial process to create Kala Namak.
Types Of Black Salt
Black salt is the salty version of rock salt, contributing its distinctive color and character to many recipes. You can buy pure black salt, but here are the different types you are most likely to find on the market.
Indian Kala Namak
Black Salt or Indian Kala Namak is a magical rock salt with an incredibly pungent, sulfurous smell. It does not taste salty and packs an astringent and bitter taste in its raw form.
However, this magical powder can impart a rich smoky, eggy flavor when used as a cooking ingredient. It is more refined than your average salt. This salt has a sulfur taste to it.
It has a variety of uses in other cuisines, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries and stews, pickles, drinks, and baked items such as bread or pizza crust.
Hawaiian black lava salt
Hawaiian black lava salt is one you can add to your everyday cooking. It has a robust, unique taste that is unlike ordinary salt. You can use it on steak and match it with Cabernet or make use of its gentle abrasiveness in a healing foot bath.
It does not have harsh chemicals or artificial ingredients. It’s ideal for use in salads and oriental dishes such as eggs, wontons, meat, and vegetable stir-fry.
Although Hawaiian Black Sea Salt is not made directly from lava, it does have some unique characteristics. Its dark, rich color comes from the addition of activated charcoal, and its sweet taste is a result of being harvested by hand just before sunset.
The salt absorbs both nutrients and elements from the atmosphere during daylight hours. Because Hawaiian black sea salt has a lower sodium content than common table salt, this type can be used in cooking and finishing.
European Black Salt
Black Salt is a mineral-rich stone salt mined today in Europe. It’s a bit similar to Himalayan Salt and Celtic Sea Salt, but it has a flavor of slightly burned earth.
Like all salts, tastes vary. It’s suitable for consumption as an everyday condiment on the table. It can instantly add value to your food and be applied like any other salt product.
Black ritual salt
Currently, there are two types of black ritual salt: pure sea salt and rock salt. The one difference between them is the natural mineral coloring (mainly iron or magnesium) that gives black rock salt its color, compared to pure sea salt with no mineral impurities. Both are good for use in magickal workings and making talismans.
Himalayan black salt
Himalayan Black Salt is entirely natural, unprocessed, and untreated, making it a fantastic addition to recipes that call for salt–and adding a great flavor. It’s also the essence of some Indian foods’ “umami” (savory) taste.
It can make an authentic version of Tandoori chicken, enhancing its color and giving it a great smoky aroma.
Additionally, it is one of the only salts in the world containing all 84 elements that are essential for the human body. It has most of these naturally occurring trace minerals in ionic form, making it much flexible and convenient for your body to absorb than other salts.
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How Is Black Salt Made?
Black salt is a newly popular condiment for its unique flavor, texture, and appearance. It’s even popular among chefs. Making black salt is relatively inexpensive and straightforward. Here’s how to make black salt at home and use it for various dishes.
First, the rock salt is placed into a drum or barrel with an open top. Then, hardwood fires are lit under the container.
The smoke from these fires rises to dissolve in the salt and infuse it with a roasted flavor that adds an essential element of smokiness to a variety of sweet and savory dishes.
However, Black salt is a type of rock salt that has been dried over hardwood fires, imparting it a roasted flavor of smokiness.
These fires bring out the large amounts of naturally occurring trace minerals available in rock salt, resulting in a mineral-rich salt that can add to various dishes.
Using pan to make black salt
Before black salt is made, the seawater is filtered through charcoal to remove impurities.
After filtering the seawater, it is placed in pans and cooked over a fire of hot coals. The black layer that is found on the bottom of the pan is known as black salt.
The traditional way to make black salt
A traditional way to make black salt is using a clay pot—soaked and dried seaweed mass in warm water for about 20 hours.
Then, put it into the clay pot and heat it over the fire until the seaweed becomes dried up.
What Makes Black Salt Black?
Black salt is black because of the high mineral content of its main ingredient.
Black salt is pinkish-purple but with high mineral content. It derived its name from its likeness with black lava salt and is made by evaporating seawater in large clay pots over an open fire.
Additionally, the blackness of black salt comes from a reaction between the minerals of the heavily volcanic soil and the sun’s heat.
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How To Make Black Salt With Food Coloring
Start with clean hands to avoid getting any food coloring on your skin.
Take the food coloring and add several drops to a bowl filled with salt.
Stir for 10 minutes until the color is thoroughly mixed into the powdered salt.
However, the food coloring you can use to make the salt black is the same as some ice cream brands.
How To Make Black Salt For Margaritas
Making your black salt for margaritas is an effortless thing to do, no matter where you live.
All you do is take rock salt and add food coloring of your choice, usually blue or black.
To make black salt for margaritas, you need to mix one teaspoon of baking soda with a few food coloring and water drops.
The mixture should be applied to sea salt in a grinder and then stored in an airtight container till you need it.
How To Make Black Garlic Salt
Ingredients:
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/3 cup freshly roasted black garlic cloves
Instruction:
To make black garlic salt, start by softening your minced or mashed black garlic for about five minutes.
Then, add sea salt to the bowl until you have a consistency that will stick to the food you want to sprinkle it on.
However, the intense aroma is hard to describe, but it’s a cross between garlicky and nutty that makes whatever you add to it taste delicious.
Here is another step by step guide to making garlic salt
Place unpeeled cloves of garlic into a jar and cover with Nigari salt. Allow the cloves to sit at room temperature for three days; they will become covered in black currants, a mold that grows on the garlic’s surface.
After three days, discard the garlic cloves but save the currant-covered nigari salt solution.
Next, add 1 cup Kosher or sea salt to an empty jar and add the nigari-black garlic juice. Stir to blend well.
Optional: if you want to keep your black garlic salt for a longer time, it may be beneficial for you to add ascorbic acid as more of a preservative. Make sure to mix in by stirring before adding to food items.
How to make black lava salt
Black lava salt is a great addition to fish dishes and brings out a nice accent note to roasted vegetables and a nice alternative-to-table salt on the dinner table.
You will need black clay (or a dark powdered pigment) and sea salt. Mix the ingredients and then bake them in the oven for 2-3 hours.
After doing so, you will have a dry and black lava salt.
How To Make Black Salt For Cocktails
Black salt is a good seasoning for cocktails. It’s easy to make it at home. Here is how to make black salt for cocktails.
Prepare your cocktail drink with black salt by first stirring the salt into the drink for a color that stands out and tastes great.
The black salt gives you a dark color and enhances the sweet flavor of your cocktail. It creates a nice balance between salty and sweet flavors.
However, the best way to use this mix is on a freshly made cocktail in a frozen glass, best served with chili powder, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and tequila.
Black Salt Substitute
If you are allergic to black salt, or you can get it in a grocery store close to use, then the following can be a perfect substitute that you can use.
Tandoori masala
Tandoori masala is a blend of spices common in the cooking of India. It is an excellent substitute that carries the flavor and aroma of black salt and does not leave a stain.
Black rock salt
Black Rock Salt is a convenient, inexpensive alternative to black salt for food and drink applications.
It’s often used for the same thing, which is to season food. And it’s not just for Indian food. In recipes for Yorkshire pudding and roast beef in British cuisine, you’ll find it.
Himalayan pink salt
This salt is some of the most refined salt in the world. Himalayan pink salt contains many minerals as black salt, essential to good health. It has gained popularity because they add different flavors to food and help with health ailments.
You can substitute Himalayan pink salt for black salt. It has a slightly coarser texture plus a lighter color than regular table salt.
Celery salt
Celery salt is a more flavor-charged alternative to black salt. It has a clean, salty flavor, perfect for sprinkling on all your favorite foods or use in sauces, dressings, poultry rubs, and more.
White pepper
White pepper can often be used as a substitute for black pepper in dishes that call for it. It has a milder flavor, and many consider the taste sweeter than its counterpart.
Substituting white pepper for black pepper is an easy change to make when cooking, so try using it next time to add some spicy flavor to one of your meals.
Ways to Use Black Salt
Black Salt is a wonderful spice, and it has several ways to be used. You can add it to the following meals:
Salads
Use black salt in your salads. It will help season and add flavor to your dishes. Try using it in French dressings, vegetable casseroles, and seafood dishes.
Desserts
It’s a delightfully addictive seasoning that goes well with desserts and can make your coffee taste richer.
Additionally, You can bake your favorite chocolate brownies with black salt.
Chopped onions
Black salt won’t tear the onion’s delicate skin but instead helps make the chopped onion smell sweeter.
Pickled vegetables
It adds a unique eggy flavor to pickled vegetables.
Also, you can use black salt to add a cheesy and smoky flavor to pickled vegetables, such as carrots and cabbage.
The resulting flavor would be a nice balance between salty and sweet. It also works well with daikon, radish, and burdock roots.
Meats
Black Salt can work well with fresh and smoked meats, including poultry, fish, pork, and beef.
Also, you can use it as a finishing salt on grilling meats for an added flavor.
Moreso, it helps brine meats that have gone bad.
Fermented cucumbers
Fermented pickles and mature cheddar cheese are often enhanced by adding black salt.
Tomato sauce
Black salt can enhance the flavors of tomato sauce, stir-fries, cooked noodles, meatballs and meatloaf, raw eggs, and many other recipes.
It’s also great on french fries and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Popcorn
Popcorn is perfect for experimenting with black salt. It has a savory, salty taste, and its crunchy texture is wonderful.
You can opt for an all-black salt butter mix or pair it with other smoky seasonings for something unique.
Gravy
Black Salt adds a deep, smoky flavor to the gravy.
Savory baked snacks
Black Salt has a distinctive sulfuric taste that adds depth of flavor to savory baked snacks. You will like it on potatoes and crisp flatbreads.
Moreso, it makes an excellent table condiment, sprinkled on roasted garlic or grilled shrimp.
Black Salt Benefits
Black salt has many pros as it enhances food flavor and brings the natural sweetness out.
- It helps people suffering from cough, asthma, and bronchitis.
- The salt helps make bitter foods taste sweeter, neutralizing the effects of chili and tempering the results of other spices.
- It has natural anti-inflammatory properties.
- The salt benefits the kidneys, liver, spleen.
- It is an excellent natural source of iron.
- Regular consumption of it prevents tooth decay and cough.
- It balances pH levels in the human body and purifies the blood.
- It is rich in trace minerals and beneficial bacteria to improve digestion and nutritional absorption.
- The salt is used extensively in Hindu tradition, culture, and rituals.
Black Salt Disadvantages
- It has a salty and fishy odor; some people cannot stand it.
- It is unstable in high temperatures.
- The salt can easily be dissolved when boiled or cooked.
- It’s considered safe to consume in small quantities, but too much can cause stomach upsets.
- It may react with some medications, so consult your doctor before using it if you are currently under a physician’s care.
- The Salt is not as pure as any other salt because it contains potassium chloride.
How To Use Black Salt For Weight Loss
Black Salt is known as the best detoxification salt. It removes toxins from your body and makes you feel energetic, losing weight by burning fat.
Additionally, it increases the body heat, due to which you tend to intake more water and push out extra water from the body in the form of sweat.
To use black salt for weight loss, take the salt and add around 1-3 teaspoons of it to a glass of warm water at night. It would be best to drink this mixture before you go to bed.
Drinking a glass of lemonade mixed with black salt will do the job.
Notably, black salt helps in reducing fat storage and burns excess fats from the body.
How much black salt per day
There are pros and cons of salt intake. Salt is involved in a wide variety of biochemical reactions in our body, and so it’s essential to take it into account in a well-balanced diet.
The average person should limit salt intake to 2300 mg/day; this translates to 6 grams of salt.
Another way to figure out how much black salt you should consume per day. Half a teaspoon of Black Salt contains 981 mg of sodium. 1/2 tsp of Black Salt is around half the recommended daily dose of 5512 mg. of sodium. That takes care of your sodium requirements for the day.
Black Salt vs Pink Salt
Whether you’re looking to add bold flavor potential to a cuisine where pink salt is desired or looking for the right finishing touch for your dish, it has a wide range of uses. Here are the differences
Black salt is made by evaporating seawater. It has a high mineral content and can make all kinds of savory, tasteful dishes. It is ideal for adding dramatic color and a smoky salt flavor to your most cherished recipes.
Perfect for seafood, poultry, red meat, eggs, and all manner of roasted veggies. You can use it in place of kosher or iodized table salt.
While pink salt comes from the chemical reaction when sodium chloride and water mix, there are claims that pink salt is healthier than other types of salt, but it lacks the minerals found in black salt.
However, pink salt and black salt are both used in gourmet cooking to add flavor to food, but these two salts have very different uses.
Try using black salt if you enjoy salt with your food but want something less salty and more flavorful than traditional table salt. It has a smoky, earthy taste that perfectly complements foods like roast beef and olives.
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How to Make Professional Bath Salts
Professional bath salts are very popular and in high demand nowadays. Most people don’t know how or what essential oils to use.
Below are steps you can take to make professional bath salts.
1- Start with a wide bowl Use distilled water that is placed in another pan
2-Add Epsom Salt in the center of the water
3-Sprinkle fragrances oil, lemon peel, clay powder, and rosemary
4-Bring on the heat and start mixing from the outside, then move towards your center
5-Once you’re done, take out the oil, place them into a glass jar and then place them in the refrigerator for about two hours
6-Add more oils if you want a stronger smell
7-Place them back in your bathtub
However, you can make bath salts by putting 2 tablespoons of Epson salt into a cup. Mix this with 2 cups of Epsom salts and 2 cups of French pink sea salt. Please take a few drops of lavender essential oil and mix them with the salts. Add 10 drops of lemon oils to the mixture, and stir well. Plus 20 drops of patchouli oil to the mixture, and mix well. Add 5 drops of ginger oil to the mixture, and mix well.
Note: Making your bath salts will save money, and you will be able to control the ingredients that are going into the product
How to Make Bath Salts with Fragrance Oil
Making bath salts with fragrance oil is very simple. It requires few materials, is easy to do, and is inexpensive. This method is a great way to use up some of your old fragrances that have leaked or are getting low.
To make your bath salts at home, you’ll need Epsom salt, lavender flowers, and lavender essential oil. Each 3 to 4 cups of Epsom salt will depend on how much scent you want to add.
Here is a step by step guide:
1. Mix Epsom salt and cornstarch in a bowl, add the fragrance oil and stir till it forms a thick mixture.
2. Add dried flower petals and seashells to it if you want
3. Scoop a small amount in your hand and put it into small muslin or cotton bags
4. Tie each bag securely with a curling ribbon 5. You can give these away as gifts for special occasions like weddings or birthday
Frequently Asked Question
Is black salt good for health?
Black salt is abundant in minerals, sulfate of iron, and sulfur. It stimulates the digestive system, which increases the body s natural metabolism. Additionally, is used to treat indigestion, flatulence, constipation, and other stomach ailments. It also helps increase appetite, relieves pain during menstruation and childbirth, and prevents haemorrhage after birth.
Conclusion
We can find many reasons to consume black salt in our daily lives. By including it as an ingredient in our food, we add a lot of health benefits to it. Like any other salt, black salt is also a part of our diet, except that it isn’t processed. That makes its taste different from what we are used to, but this is not bad if you know how to make black salt as it will taste better than if it were processed.
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup black garlic cloves
Instructions
- Start by letting your minced or mashed black garlic sit out for around five minutes before using it to produce black garlic salt.
- Once you get a consistency that will adhere to the meal you wish to sprinkle it on, continue to add sea salt to the bowl.
- But it’s difficult to convey the potent aroma, which is a cross between nutty and garlicky and makes whatever you add to it taste fantastic.
Video
Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.