Category History of Salt

Long before refrigeration, freezing and modern packaging technologies existed, people used salt to preserve meat, fish and other foods for longer periods. One of salt’s most important roles in food history was not simply to add flavor, but to slow…

Because salt is easy to find and relatively inexpensive on modern supermarket shelves, it can be difficult to appreciate how strategic it once was. For much of human history, however, salt was critical to nutrition, food preservation, livestock, trade, taxation,…

Salt was not a weapon in itself, but throughout history it was an important part of wartime economies because of its role in feeding armies, preserving food, caring for animals and controlling strategic production regions. In long campaigns, success depended…

A commonly repeated story says that the word “salary” comes from salt and that Roman soldiers were paid their wages in salt. Part of this story rests on a genuine linguistic connection, but the statement that “Roman soldiers were directly…

Salt’s place in world history cannot be explained by the kitchen alone. It played an important role in food preservation, trade, state revenue, urban development, military supply and long-distance exchange networks. In some societies, salt-producing regions became economic centers; in…