Japanese Food Tips

Salt is as essential as water in order to live. It is the most famous seasoning in the world. About ten years ago, one American explained that salt in Japan is sea salt whereas in the United States it is rock salt. I thought that all salt anywhere in the world was sea salt. When I researched about salt, I found out that 80% of people eat rock salt (including lake salt) and 20% of people eat sea salt. It is said that long ago the area where rock salt was collected was the sea. Rock salt and sea salt strictly are the same. In the past, making salt in Japan was more difficult than making it in other countries because land available for production was scarce and the weather was irregular. Currently, an ion exchange membrane, which is one millionth of a millimeter, is used in making sea salt. The membrane shuts out harmful substances (mercury and PCB) from seawater. For this reason, Japanese salt is considerably safe. Sea salt contains many minerals. Because Japanese food uses sea salt, you should use it together with soft water when you cook Japanese dishes.