How is (Dead Sea) Salt Produced?

Salt is arguably the most popular ingredient in the world. However, out of all the salt produced, only 5% is used for cooking purposes. Almost 70% of this salt is used as chlorine, in the chemical industry. There are countless other purposes where salt is employed, for example taking ice and snow off the roads, food preservation, stabilization of soils for construction purposes, and water softening.

Salt can be produced both naturally and artificially. In the earliest times, salt was obtained from Licks, which are natural salt concentrations, and meat. The method used for salt production then was evaporating seawater with the help of the sun. This process has been reproduced on a mass scale to produce a greater yield. However, today faster, and cheaper methods of salt production have been developed. And in every case, the taste of the final product varies, based on the source of the raw material and the production technique used.

Primary methods for producing salt are:

• Seawater Evaporation 

• Salt Mining 

• Building Salt Brines

Since salt brines make mass production easier, they are used to produce common salts. On the other hand, gourmet and speciality salts are produced using the seawater evaporation method. Salts used for chemical industrial purposes are typically obtained through mining.

Seawater Evaporation

Sea salt is produced naturally when a shallow pond or bay dries up because of the wind and the sun. Once the water evaporates, large salt crystals form. To produce sea salt on a large scale, water from the sea is evaporated in huge "concentrating ponds". 

Salt Mining

Rock salt or halite is crystallized salt. It occurs due to the evaporation of oceans millions of years ago. Halite is extracted with the help of deep-shaft mining. These large deposits are present in the rocky layers of the earth and they are a result of dried-up underground waterways.

Building Salt Brines

This is the most inexpensive method and has the highest yield. Most of the common table salt under production today is manufactured using this method. Brine is simply water with a high concentration of salt. Salt is extracted from the ocean with the help of hydraulic mining of salt. Here, seawater is pumped below the surface and dissolved with salt deposits. This brine contains mineral content which skincare companies such as Premier use to produce high-quality cosmetics - in this case, the famed Dead Sea salt. Salt produced through this method is nearly pure crystal sodium chloride.