Rock Salt (Sendha Namak)

• Rock salt (Sodium chloride) is the common name for the mineral ‘halite’ or ‘Land salt’. It is mined from deposits in the ground.
• Rock salt crystals are larger, less refined, and more discolored than purified ‘table salt’. It can have impurities of gypsum (CaSO4) and sylvite (KCl) but it is very rare to find potassium sulfate as a mineral, although occasionally polyhalite (K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4.2H2O) is found associated with rock salt deposits.
• It does not contain additives such as iodine or anti-caking agents commonly found in table salt.
• The salt is sold in most grocery stores or health food stores in either edible/gourmet or inedible forms. The inedible form is not dangerous, however it does contain grit that would make it unpleasant to eat.
• It is lower in sodium thus it is believed that it helps in checking the blood pressure.
• Its best known use is to help make homemade ice cream in an electric or hand-crank machine. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice, which causes it to melt. Melted ice water is much better at absorbing the heat from the ice cream mixture than ice cubes and this makes the ice cream freeze faster.
• The edible form of rock salt can be used in the cooking and seasoning of the food.
• The importance of this salt can be realized from the fact it is used in number of Ayurvedic medicines.
• In India, it is used mainly during 'fasts' and known as ‘Sendha Namak’.