What Is Sole and How Is It Prepared?
The word “sole” is commonly used for a concentrated salt-water solution prepared by dissolving rock salt in water. The basic process is simple: food-grade rock salt is added to potable water and allowed to dissolve. When some crystals remain undissolved at the bottom, the solution has reached a high salt concentration under those conditions.
Preparing sole with granular rock salt
A clean glass container can be used. Granular crystalline rock salt is placed in the container and potable water is added. The mixture is then left to stand. If all of the salt dissolves, additional crystals can be added. When some salt remains at the bottom instead of dissolving completely, the water is no longer readily dissolving all of the additional salt.
Why use coarse crystals?
Coarse granular crystals dissolve more slowly and make the process easy to observe. The underlying principle, however, does not depend on the visual shape of the crystal; it depends on the solubility of sodium chloride in water. Finely ground salt generally dissolves more quickly, while larger crystals take longer.
How should the prepared brine be stored?
The container should be kept clean and closed to reduce the risk of contamination. Spoons or other utensils that come into contact with the brine should also be clean. Recording when the solution was prepared and knowing the source of the salt are useful practical measures when it is being used for culinary purposes.
How can sole be used?
A concentrated brine should not be treated like ordinary drinking water. When it is used in cooking, brining or similar food applications, it should be diluted according to the concentration required by the recipe or process. Different applications require different salt concentrations.
This article explains the preparation of concentrated salt water as a technical process. It does not recommend sole as a treatment, drinking cure or personalised health practice. Individual decisions about dietary salt should take personal health circumstances into account.
For related guides and articles, see the Cankiri Rock Salt section.