Kurlansky says Derman’s reaction to the book was “exactly” what he had hoped for when he wrote the book. Derman, speaking to TODAY.com, says he first picked up the book while on the hunt for a read that would “invigorate” his curiosity.

Traditional salt is primarily made up of sodium chloride. Most people in the U.S. consume more sodium each day than health officials recommend, mainly because sodium is common in processed foods and restaurant meals. Your grocer may offer many types of salt, but sea salt and Himalayan salt are about the same as average table salt when it comes to their nutritional properties.

For an ingredient with such a small footprint, there is a whole lot of ground to cover when it comes to salt. How much to use? What type? Should you even use salt at all? Just as important as whether and how much to use is when to add it to your food.

Where Did Coffee With Salt Originate? Putting salt in coffee isn’t a new idea. The tradition stretches back hundreds of years in countries such as Hungary, Siberia, and Turkey, the latter of which even incorporates salted coffee into wedding rituals.

A homemade herb salt is one of the easiest ways to preserve fresh garden herbs. It works as both a seasoning and a simple preservation method because the salt draws moisture from the herbs while locking in their flavor.