posted
Recently, i saw italian chef on tv who,while mincing garlic to the maximum extent,mixed in soem kind of coarse salt(not regular table salt).
i'm looking for a technical answer here, if possible. can any kitchen chemists,or chefs comment on what the chemical reaction product(s)are, and if not, what reason(s) have you heard.
my own possible explanations are that,some, or most of the sulfur atoms in the sulfur compounds found in garlic have a divalent negative electrical charge . magnesium, one mineral that occurs in coarse salt has a divalent positive charge , as do other minerals in a given coarse salt.
thinking of magnesium, the magnesium,and the sulfur in the sulfur compounds bind together(opposites charges attract) to form new compounds.
so we now have magnesium-bound, sulfur compounds in this minced garlic, salt mixture. other divalent, mineral-bound sulfur compounds would form as well.
still one more possibility: a hydrogen atom , or a hydroxyl group(OH) coming from teh water molecules attached to the mag. sulfate would make magnesium hydride(?), and magnsium hydroxide. or, two singularly positively charged hydrogen atom would attach to the sulfur atom(s) in the sulfur compounds in the minced garlic .
the divalent positive minerals, e.g. magnesium, by biding to the sulfur compounds makes the garlic not burn, less harsh, or not harsh-tasting, and instead makes it sweet?
having seen this,and having no coarse salt on hand, i instead used, epsoms salt, which is Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (the last term means 7 water molecules are attached to one or more magnesium sulfate molecules.
so the reaction mixt. is water from the mag.sulfate plus that in the garlic segment + mag.sulfate + the many sulfur compounds in teh minced garlic.
charlie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25
posted
OK but it's probably not what you're looking for.
Every cooking person it seems wants to toss around the term, 'coarse salt' or 'Kosher salt' now. Kinda like they did 'mesclun' awhile back.
Whatever kind of salt it is just seems to draw out the garlic juices and make it into a mush rather than little shreds when you chop it. I really think that's all there is to it.
(note to would-be chef types, if you are showing off chopping garlic and conversing at the same time like the TV chefs and you notice the garlic taking on a reddish tinge you ought to pay more attention unless you're serving to people who have a taste for long pig)
Posts: 2804 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
i figure the minerals would bind the non-water part of the juices, nullifying the sharp burn one would get, but the altering of the negative effects on the tongue is not necessarily the case. i don't quite know yet.
with chemistry aspect of this, i'm trying to drill a little deeper into whats going on with the mix.
having had no 'coarse' salt on hand,two days ago i tried this chefs idea, but with epsom salt. i ate it straight off the spatula, and chased it down with the nearest liquid on hand--cold coffee.
i couldn't tell much; it still burnt my tongue.
still experimenting with this, just for the sake of doing so.
i'm gonna try this with seasalt, or grey salt(french),the concentrace supp., trace mineral supps.etc.
i'll email, or call some chefs about this, and hope i don't get some explecatives-- --in my ear.
divalent, positively charged minerals were on my mind when i chose the word 'coarse' salt,my generic use of the term for salts that are not sodium chloride(regular table salt).
with sodium chloride, the sodium is monvalently positive, and the chloride monovalently negative.
i think i would need double the number of sodium atoms(two monovalent positive charges) to bond the divalent negative sulfur atom in the sulfur-containing compounds released (the juices) upon mincing the garlic. this would serve the same function(s) as the divalent minerals. i arbitrarily chose divalent minerals occuring in these non-table salt, salts.
anymore kitchen chemists,or chefs on board who want to "slice,dice,mince, and smack" the ideas(not me) in this post with the cleaver?
Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
When I make cucumber salad, I slice the cukes thinly, and then salt heavily. After sitting for a while, the salt draws out moisture from the cucumber slices, and they are now limp, instead of crisp.
I press out all the (salty) liquid, and make the dressing. My mom always made cucumber salad this way.
My Bavarian German grandparents also did this with the German "beer radish," a large white radish somewhat like a daikon.
After salting, sitting, then pressing out the liquid, the radish slices were laid atop a slice of brown bread, spread with sweet butter.
Yum. I'm sure this is an acquired taste...I miss it.
Just some thoughts on what happens when you salt a crisp vegetable.
Carol
Posts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
Coarse salt;or sea salt breaks up the garlic making it real fine.And keeps it from sticking to utensils.
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
sounds like in the salting the minerals bind the acids, thereby making the juices sweat. my guess, based on something i once heard about soaking egg shells or chicken bones(calcium & magnesium) in vinegar for a period of time. by tying-up the acid(s)(acetic acid,for one), the vinegar is made sweat; after the Ca and the Mg come out from the chicken leg bone, you could tie the bone in a knot. going afield here.
Tree, yeah, the edge on the individual crystals, and the flate surface areas of each side of the crystals would serve to further cut, and crush the garlic,and the resulting juices would dissolve the crystals by binding to the salt minerals.
Cave, i'll be pensively 'smoking'the suggested ideas,and hints, and hope none of the results explode!
anymore non-herxing chefs,or kitchen chemists want to take a crack at whats goin' on with mixing together, a coarse salt with minced garlic?
Would you happen to know what compounds are typically utilized in for example, Morton Table salt that could be causing my severe allergic reaction?
I know its a preservative or an anti-caking agent or a bleach. The substance is also sometimes used in saline solutions, some give me anaphylaxis, as does table salt. Any hints on this?
Thanks a bunch (of celtic sea salt!)
-------------------- PJ
www.LymeLeague.com"Together We Grow Stronger" Posts: 139 | From A tiny little home office in the middle of Wisconsin | Registered: Feb 2005
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
sodium chloride, NaCl, common salt. Properties
Sodium chloride is readily soluble in water and insoluble or only slightly soluble in most other liquids. It forms small, transparent, colorless to white cubic crystals. Sodium chloride is odorless but has a characteristic taste. It is an ionic compound, being made up of equal numbers of positively charged sodium and negatively charged chloride ions. When it is melted or dissolved in water the ions can move about freely, so that dissolved or molten sodium chloride is a conductor of electricity; it can be decomposed into sodium and chlorine by passing an electrical current through it (see electrolysis).
Natural Occurrence and Commercial Preparation
Nearly all chemical compounds that contain either sodium or chlorine are ultimately derived from salt. Salt is widely and abundantly distributed in nature. It makes up nearly 80% of the dissolved material in seawater, and is the greater part of dissolved matter in the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake, and in salt wells in various parts of the world. It is also widely distributed in solid form. The mineral halite is pure salt. Rock, or mineral, salt is usually less pure; it is found in large deposits in the United States, notably in New York, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, Texas, and Louisiana, and also in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and India.
The manufacture and use of salt is one of the oldest chemical industries. Salt is mined from deposits or is obtained as a brine by introducing water into the deposits to dissolve the salt and then pumping the solution to the surface. Salt is also obtained by evaporation of seawater, usually in shallow basins warmed by sunlight; salt so obtained was formerly called bay salt, and is now often called sea salt or solar salt. Most salt for table use is obtained from seawater. It is usually not pure sodium chloride--it may contain natural impurities that provide dietary minerals, or small amounts of other substances (e.g., magnesium carbonate, hydrated calcium silicate, or tricalcium phosphate) may be added to prevent lumping.
Biological Importance and Uses
Salt is important in many ways. It is an essential part of the diet of both humans and animals and is a part of most animal fluids, such as blood, sweat, and tears. It aids digestion by providing chlorine for hydrochloric acid, a small but essential part of human digestive fluid. Persons with hypertensive heart disease often must restrict the amount of salt in their diet.
Salt is widely used as a seasoning for foods and is used in curing meats and preserving fish and other foods. Iodized table salt usually contains small amounts of potassium iodide, sodium carbonate, and sodium thiosulfate. As a chemical salt is used in making glass, pottery, textile dyes, and soap. It is used in large amounts to melt ice and snow on streets and highways. The major use of salt is as a raw material for the production of chlorine, sodium metal, and sodium hydroxide; it is also used in large amounts in the Solvay process for making sodium carbonate. Historically, salt has been used as money; a high tax on salt was a contributing cause of the French Revolution.
Bibliography
See G. L. Eskew, Salt, the Fifth Element (1948); D. W. Kaufmann, ed., Sodium Chloride (1968); G. Mamantov and R. Marassi, ed., Molten Salt Chemistry (1987).
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