In certainly one of my favourite survival movies, the hero is stranded on an island. He ultimately learns to entice animals to eat however is determined for taste. He has an epiphany when some sweat will get into his mouth: “I style so good!” he exclaims. After that, he carries round a bit of bottle to collect his sweat to taste his meals.
Hopefully, none of us find yourself having to make use of sweat as a salt various in an emergency situation. Fortunately, long-term salt storage could be very straightforward.
How, Why, and When To Retailer Salt: The Brief Reply
- Retailer roughly 10lbs of salt per individual for a yr’s provide.
- This could meet salt wants for meals/diet and different makes use of.
- Select pure salt with out iodine or components as a result of it has the very best shelf life and can be utilized in some ways.
- Put salt in sealed luggage to guard it from moisture, and put these into buckets to guard towards bodily harm.
Why Retailer Salt
Earlier than globalization, salt was a precious commodity. Roman troopers bought paid in salt (therefore the phrase “value their salt”). Wars have been fought over salt all through historical past, and revolutions began due to salt.
So why is salt so essential? Listed here are some key causes you must have a stockpile of salt available. (1)
Diet
Most industrial meals has a lot added salt that we overlook how important it’s. Salt comprises sodium, which our physique must transmit nerve impulses, contract and loosen up muscle fibers, and keep fluid steadiness. If we didn’t get sufficient sodium, our hearts would cease beating.
Meat does have lots of pure sodium in it. Nonetheless, plant meals don’t have as a lot sodium. You’d need to eat about 47 stalks of celery (a high-sodium vegetable) per day to get sufficient sodium.
Meals Preservation
Salt can also be valuable as a result of it may be used for preserving meals. You’ll be able to learn extra about that on this put up about DIY Lacto fermentation instructions and salt-curing meat.
Drugs
As a result of salt attracts moisture out of cells, it may well kill many micro organism and fungi cells. Thus, salt is a superb pure treatment for oral thrush and throat infections. It’s additionally used to make a saline answer for cleansing wounds, sinuses, and eyes.
Low cost Bartering Merchandise
If a large-scale catastrophe have been to hit, you can use salt to commerce for different objects you want. As a result of salt is so low cost and straightforward to afford, it is likely one of the best bartering items to stockpile
How A lot Salt to Retailer
The Institute of Drugs recommends that wholesome adults eat a minimum of 1,500mg (1.5g) of sodium however not more than 2,300mg (2.3g) per day. (4) An oz. of pure salt comprises roughly 10,990mg of sodium.
Based mostly on these numbers, a wholesome grownup wants 50-76oz (3.125-4.75lbs) of salt per yr for diet.
Nonetheless, salt has many different makes use of than simply seasoning meals. If you wish to use salt for meals preservation, pure treatments, or bartering, you must stockpile far more salt than this.
Once you issue within the different makes use of for salt, you doubtless want round 10lbs of salt per individual per yr.
Does Salt Go Dangerous?
Salt doesn’t go unhealthy and might final eternally. Nonetheless, many forms of salt we purchase include components like iodine or anti-clumping brokers. Over time, these can degrade. The salt will nonetheless be good to eat however might lose its iodine or develop an off-color.
Salt can even get moist, flip right into a rock-hard clump, or decide up odors from the encircling surroundings. Even then, the salt isn’t “unhealthy” and remains to be secure to eat.
Drying Out Moist Salt
In case your salt stockpile will get moist from excessive humidity, you possibly can dry it out. Unfold it on a baking tray and put it within the oven at a low temperature. Stir sometimes to interrupt up any clumps. Make sure the temperature stays beneath 200F as a result of the salt may discolor at temperatures increased than this.
Breaking Up Salt Clumps
When you don’t retailer salt in a very air-tight container, it may well take in moisture from the air and begin to kind onerous clumps. Small clumps could be damaged up in a high-speed blender.
Bigger, tougher clumps must be damaged up by hand. Get out a (clear) hammer and begin banging it into items. When you get the salt into smaller items, you possibly can put the salt in a steel colander with one thing beneath. Push on the clumps with a bowl or spoon. Because the salt breaks aside, the crystals will fall by means of the colander.
Finest Sort of Salt for Lengthy Time period Storage
Pickling salt, canning salt, or kosher salt with out iodine or components are the very best forms of salt for long-term storage as a result of they received’t go unhealthy. Their purity additionally means they can be utilized in a number of methods. Sea salt can also be a sensible choice however tends to be dearer.
Beneath is an outline of the assorted forms of salt and why you may wish to stockpile them.
Desk Salt & Iodized Salt
The commonest sort of salts are desk salt and iodized salt. These often include 97-99% sodium chloride with some anti-caking brokers. Iodized salt has iodine along with the anti-caking brokers.
Iodine is a necessary nutrient that could be tough to get on an emergency meals food regimen. Nonetheless, utilizing non-iodized salt for issues like DIY pickling and salt-water sinus rinses is best.
Over time, the iodine can flip the salt yellowish. It’s nonetheless suitable for eating, but it surely may make the salt much less precious as a bartering merchandise. In case you are fearful about getting sufficient iodine, think about stockpiling seaweed or a complement.
- Comprises: Iodine, anti-clumping brokers
- Use for: Cooking
- Shelf Life: Round 5 years
Kosher Salt
Kosher salt is made up of huge crystals of salt. Historically, kosher salt doesn’t include any iodine or components. Nonetheless, some manufacturers of kosher salt do have components, so it’s a must to learn the label.
As a result of it’s pure, kosher salt is nice for the whole lot from cooking to preserving meals.
The one actual downside is that the massive crystals don’t dissolve as simply, which isn’t ideally suited for baking. Bigger crystals additionally imply that there’s much less salt per teaspoon. When following recipes primarily based on desk salt, you could alter the quantity of kosher salt (1tsp of desk salt often equals 1 ¼ tsp of coarse kosher salt).
- Comprises: Normally simply pure salt
- Use for: Cooking, meals preservation, medicinally
- Shelf Life: Indefinite
Sea Salt
Sea salt is made by evaporating seawater. Or, within the case of Actual Salt from Utah, from an underground salt deposit left by an historical sea. Relying on the supply of the seawater, the ensuing salt will include varied pure minerals.
Due to these minerals, sea salt is taken into account more healthy than different salt varieties. Nonetheless, it’s value noting that these minerals are solely current in very tiny quantities. You shouldn’t depend on sea salt as a supply of diet.
Many sea salt manufacturers do add iodine to their merchandise. These salts are usually not really helpful for meals preservation or medicinal makes use of. Like with desk salt, iodized sea salt will ultimately begin to yellow. Non-iodized sea salt will final indefinitely and can be utilized in some ways.
- Different names: Celtic salt, Fleur De Sel, Sel Gris, flake salt
- Comprises: Hint minerals
- Use for: Cooking, meals preservation, medicinally
- Shelf Life: Indefinite
Additionally see: How to get salt from natural sources.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Like sea salt, Himalayan pink salt is usually thought-about “more healthy” as a result of it comprises pure minerals. However these minerals are solely in hint quantities, in order that they aren’t going to make a distinction to general well being.
As a result of Himalayan sea salt is so costly, I wouldn’t suggest it for long-term storage. It makes extra sense to stockpile some multivitamins and mineral dietary supplements.
- Comprises: Hint minerals
- Use for: Cooking, meals preservation, medicinally
- Shelf Life: Indefinite
Canning and Pickling Salt
Canning and pickling salts include no iodine, anti-caking brokers, or different components. The primary characteristic of those salts is their tiny grain measurement, which permits them to dissolve quicker in liquids. They’re refined, so additionally they don’t have any hint minerals.
- Comprises: Hint minerals
- Use for: Cooking, meals preservation, medicinally
- Shelf Life: Indefinite
The way to Retailer Salt Lengthy-Time period
You will need to hold salt in a dry place so it doesn’t take in moisture from the air. You’ll additionally wish to hold it away from strong-smelling objects so it doesn’t decide up any odors. In case you are storing iodized salt, take care to maintain the salt away from warmth as a result of warmth will degrade iodine.
For catastrophe prepping, the principle factor you could take into consideration is retaining the salt secure from bodily harm. You don’t need a roof beam to smash towards your salt and trigger it to spill throughout, nor would you like nasty flood water to seep into your salt containers.
Beneath are a few of the greatest strategies for storing salt, so it stays good and secure to make use of for many years.
Air-Tight Plastic Containers
Merely put the salt into an air-tight container. You’ll be able to hold the salt in its authentic packaging and put this into the container. Or, to avoid wasting area, dump the salt from its packaging into the container.
Buckets
Buckets are nice for storing giant quantities of salt. You’ll be able to dump salt instantly into the bucket, depart it in its authentic packaging, or repackage it in luggage. The beauty of buckets for salt storage is that they’re principally indestructible. A roof beam might fall in your salt bucket, and it’d survive.
Sadly, although, buckets often are usually not completely waterproof. When you reside someplace susceptible to flooding, you may must take further steps to maintain water from attending to your salt stockpile – equivalent to sealing the salt in Mylar luggage first.
Alternatively, you possibly can seal across the bucket lid with silicone sealant. Nonetheless, the seal will likely be damaged whenever you open the bucket. A easy answer is to make use of gamma lids as an alternative. Even after sealing across the bucket/lid space, you’ll nonetheless be capable of open the lid. The O-ring on the gamma lid could be very waterproof.
Vacuum Sealing
You’ll be able to vacuum seal salt to maintain moisture out of it. This may assist forestall clumping. Nonetheless, some air will ultimately nonetheless seep by means of the baggage.
As a result of vacuum sealer luggage aren’t precisely low cost, I wouldn’t trouble utilizing them for salt. You’ll be able to put the salt in double zip luggage as an alternative: press as a lot air out of the baggage as you possibly can, shut them, roll down the highest of the baggage, and tape the sides with packing tape.
Mylar Baggage
Mylar is a metal-like materials that received’t let any air by means of. Not solely does this shield the salt from moisture, but it surely additionally retains it secure towards floods.
The luggage may very well be floating round in floodwater, and the salt inside would nonetheless be suitable for eating. Mylar luggage can nonetheless be punctured (equivalent to if a roof beam falls on them), so many individuals take the additional step of placing Mylar luggage into buckets.
When you aren’t in a flood zone, it could be overkill to retailer salt in Mylar luggage; common zip luggage will work simply as properly.
*Word that you shouldn’t use oxygen absorbers when storing salt in Mylar luggage. Learn extra about Mylar food storage and oxygen absorbers right here.
Mason Jars
Mason jars with two-piece lids present a really tight seal. Moisture received’t be capable of get into the jar, so your salt will keep dry and clump-free. The draw back is that Mason jars can break. When you reside in areas susceptible to earthquakes or different pure disasters, it could be higher to retailer salt in plastic buckets.
*Do Not Retailer Salt in Steel Containers
By no means put salt in steel containers for long-term storage. Salt will corrode steel containers, inflicting rust and chemical compounds in your salt.
How I Retailer Salt
I take advantage of this technique for long-term salt storage:
- Purchase luggage of salt (not packing containers)
- Put the baggage of salt into sturdy zip luggage
- Shut the baggage and seal the sting with plastic packing tape
- Put the baggage right into a bucket with a gamma-seal lid
- Use silicone sealant to waterproof the bucket lid
This technique ought to hold my salt secure by means of most disasters however remains to be low cost and straightforward. If I lived in a hurricane space, although, I’d in all probability use Mylar as an alternative of zip baggies.
How do you retailer salt long-term? Tell us within the feedback.