Basic Ingredients in Kitchen : Condiments

Salt

Salt is a white crystalline material that is extracted from the sea and land. In chemistry, salt is defined as an ionic compound that can be formed by the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. It is majorly Sodium Chloride which creates this ionic compound.

Salt is a very essential for life as it is the source of sodium and chloride in human bodies. Salting is a mandatory method of food preservation as well.

Salt is essential for the health of humans and other animals as It is one of the five basic taste sensations. Salt is present in most foods, and it is often added to processed foods for flavouring and as a preservative. However, If you eat more salt, extra water stored in the body raises your blood pressure. Let us know what some of the effects on the human body are.

Effects on the human body- Overall, the well-dosed use of table salt has a positive impact on human health; In particular, it stabilizes the water balance due to the presence of sodium and chloride ions. It strengthens the nervous system, regulates digestion and bone formation.

On the other hand, too much salt can cause disease. Hypertension or stomach cancer is just two examples. Meanwhile, it has been proven that increased salt intake can damage the cardiovascular system to the point of death.

Additives- Frequently salts are provided with additives. These may include spices and flavourings.
They must comply with food law regulations. Likewise, individual rules apply to the sodium nitrite used in the nitrite pickling salt, to the sodium iodate used in the iodised salt, to fluorine or smoke flavourings.

There are various methods by which salt is extracted. Some of the major ones are mentioned below.

Chamber mining method - In Chamber mining, experts create pockets in the salt rock with the help of drilling. From which the blasting material is removed with shovels. Salt rock piers support the chambers formed during blasting to avoid a total collapse.
Brine purification - Another method for salt extraction is the extraction in question. For this purpose, vertical holes are introduced into salt dikes, which are widened in a funnel shape by the pumping of water. In this process, an artificial raw brine is obtained, which must first be cleaned. Subsequently, the previously introduced liquid is evaporated, so that in the end only salt crystals remain.
In contrast to this method, natural salts can be obtained. This is done by drilling their deep-layer sources. So that natural brines can be processed to table salt, they need an additional salt enrichment before. The saturated brine is also supplied to the evaporation, so that in the end salt crystals remain behind.

Seawater evaporation- Likewise, table salt can be obtained by evaporating seawater, which naturally has a relatively high salt content. The evaporation happens in several phases. The salt concentration in the last phase is unusually high; the now saturated brine can be end-scavenged. One cubic meter of seawater produces about 23 kilograms of sea salt, which is processed into table salt. Alternatively, this method can be used for saltwater drawn from salt lakes. This also has high saturation.
Regionally, the traditional methods of salt extraction differ. For example, in some cultures leaching of plant ash is known, in others the filtering of soil or peat. After various cleaning processes, depending on the type of degradation, sodium or potassium chloride remains.

Below we give you an overview of different types of food salt and use.

Sea Salt

Sea salt is salt that is extracted from the seawater by different methods. In addition to sodium chloride, it contains minerals and trace elements. After the appropriate cleaning process, it can be used as table salt; as an aerosol, it is used in respiratory therapy. Sea salt should be a unique salt according to some cooks. Nutritionists, however, put it on the same level as other table salts, as the composition of sea salt differs only insignificantly from these. Sea salt consists almost wholly, namely up to 98 percent, of sodium chloride. The rest are minerals as well as water.

The positive contribution to health promotion, which should be made by the absorption of sea salt, should therefore preferably be classified as low. This review assumes pure sea salt. The addition of additives may change the weight of this assessment.

Himalayan pink

Himalayan salt is produced in the area of Punjab in Pakistan. However, it is not produced in the Himalayas. It is a full-bodied salt that contains a high amount of minerals that are good for your body. The pink colour of the salt comes from the extensive amount of minerals present, especially magnesium and iron. Ideally, it has a very mild taste which can be used with light dishes with white meat, fish, and vegetables. The pink salt is also ideal for decorating raw food dishes.

Grey

Grey salt is a sea salt found in Brittany, France’s Atlantic coast and is known for its moist and unrefined texture. The clay lining the salt ponds acquire the colour grey. Due to its extra fine grains, it used to sprinkle over the popcorn or nuts.

Black

Black salt or Kala namak is an unrefined mineral salt. It is a pinkish grey colour and not precisely black with strong sulfuric flavor and aroma which is quite pungent in nature. It is used in Mango smoothies,

Red

Red salt is also known as Alaea salt. The unrefined sea salt when mixed with the red alae volcanic clay, It gets the pink and brownish color from the particles. It helps the human body with dehydration and balance the body fluids and also is an excellent source of electrolytes. This helps the brain, muscle, and nervous system to function correctly.

Persian blue

Persian Blue salt is extracted from the Semnan province in Iran. No wonder, it gets the colour blue due to the mineral called sylvanite, a potassium mineral.

Turmeric

Turmeric is also called turmeric or Indian saffron. Also known as Haldi in Hindi, it is a Plant of the ginger family which is produced in the Indian sub-continent. Turmeric is commonly used as colouring and flavouring agent in households. It has been used in Ayurveda for thousands of years. It is one of the key ingredients in Indian cuisine. It is mostly used in savory dishes. Most commonly used spice in South Asian and middle eastern cooking.

Turmeric was already a familiar spice in ancient times. At that time, however, the yellow powder had been used less for cooking than for dyeing. The turmeric dye, from which turmeric is derived, was often used at that time to dye textiles and paper with the beautiful shade of yellow. Turmeric was also commonly used in foods such as butter and cheese to intensify the respective color.

Today turmeric is mostly used in curry powder. It ensures the yellowish color of this mixture. Turmeric also plays a significant and vital role as a substitute for saffron. Due to the coloring effect of dough and rice, turmeric is an inexpensive solution for saffron.

In almost every dish, turmeric tubers are mostly used. Whether it be meat, the many Dal dishes or even in the Ayurvedic cuisine, everywhere you can discover the characteristic taste of turmeric. However, this massive popularity of turmeric is not surprising in India, as an above-average portion of the world's crop is cultivated there. In addition to India turmeric counts in Thailand and other areas of Southeast Asia to an essential and indispensable spice in their traditional cuisine. Another reason for the extensive use of turmeric is the fact that turmeric is classified as an antioxidant. This means that the addition of turmeric food can be preserved to protect them from spoiling.

Uses: - anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, can help prevent cancer, anti-aging, common cold, anti-viral, liver ailments, to clean wounds, protects the heart in various ways, treats skin sores, brain boosting, throat infection, indigestion, inflammation.

Uses of Turmeric in Cancer

Due to its antioxidant effect, as can be demonstrated with vitamin E or carotene, turmeric is also found in anti-aging medicine. As a component of various skin creams, it counteracts the aging of human skin. Approximately 3,000 studies have dealt with the curative effects of turmeric in cancer. Here are just about all cancers have been considered. The results of these studies have led both the German, the Austrian and the American Society of Oncology to recommend turmeric as an adjunct to cancer therapy. Positive effects have been found in virtually every type of cancer. Turmeric works against cancer by acting

as an antioxidant it inhibits carcinogenesis

prevents the mutation of preloaded cells to cancer cells

stimulates the immune system

inhibits the development and spread of metastases

prevents the development of blood vessels in tumor tissue

makes the cell membrane of the cancer cells more permeable and thus supports chemical or radiation therapy

Activates genes responsible for the suicide of cancer cells

Reliable knowledge about the positive effect of turmeric is available for the following cancers:

skin cancer

colon cancer

breast cancer

lung cancer

Prostate Cancer

cervical cancer

For skin cancer, in vitro studies have shown that turmeric suppresses two proteins that prevent cell suicide (apoptosis). As a result, more cancer cells died. Regarding colorectal cancer, turmeric is both preventive and curative. On the one hand, it prevents the development of intestinal polyps, from which colon cancer can develop. On the other hand, it also promotes the regression of already existing intestinal polyps. Here, a reduction in the number of intestinal polyps by 60% and a reduction in their size in half could be observed.

In breast cancer, it has been shown in animal studies that turmeric can inhibit metastasis and leaching into the lungs. This effect can be demonstrated by the fact that turmeric acts as a transcription factor, eliminating the genes necessary for the development of cancer, thus preventing the growth and spread of cancer cells. Also, there have been positive interactions between turmeric and conventional anti-cancer drugs. In animal studies, it has been explained that turmeric supports the treatment with a chemotherapeutic agent and that the success of the procedure can be significantly increased.

Turmeric supports both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For example, during chemotherapy, cancer cells often develop resistance. Then another drug must be sought because the previously used no healing effect more or hardly has any impact. Turmeric can prevent this form of resistance. An American study from 2010 found positive interactions with some chemotherapeutic agents.

Turmeric can also improve the results of radiotherapy. It increases the sensitivity of the cells to radiation.

Sugar: -

When we think of sugar, we mostly think of the white, crystalline and sweet-tasting powder. This so-called crystal or household sugar, also called sucrose in the art, consists of a double sugar from a part of fructose (fructose) and a part of glucose (glucose). Sugar is extracted from the sugar beet or cane and sweetens our lives. Sugar belongs to the group of carbohydrates and provides four calories per gram.

Sugar is sweet tasting sensation, where sweet is one of the five primary sensations. There are many types of sugar derived from different sources, many of which are used in foods.

Let us know What the types of sugar are

The many kinds of sugar are Grain sugar, castor/breakfast sugar, icing sugar, and brown sugar. Ordinary table sugar is sucrose, can be broken into glucose and fructose.

Pure Sugar - Goes fast into the blood and provices energy

· The best-known example of refined sugar is the glucose.

· Another simple sugar is fructose. It is part of the fruit and ensures its natural sweetness. People with fructose intolerance do not tolerate this sugar.

Double sugar - sugar molecules from two simple sugars are the standard

If several simple sugars are combined with each other, complex sugar molecules are obtained, which must first be broken down by the body to use the energy. The most well-known are:

· The malt sugar or maltose. Consists of two glucose molecules and is found mainly in beer, potatoes or pasta when the starch is split in it.

· Our standard table sugar, however, consists of one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose. Its chemical name is sucrose, but because it is made from sugar cane or sugar beets, it is also often called cane sugar or beet sugar.

· One molecule of glucose and one molecule of galactose combine to form lactose, the milk sugar. With this sugar compound, many people have problems, because, to reduce it, the enzyme lactase is needed, which is missing many people.

Multiple sugar - starch is also sugar

If more than ten glucose molecules combine, one speaks of polysaccharides, thus multiple sugars. The best-known example of this is the strength already mentioned above. It is found in potatoes, wheat, rice or corn and is also present in many finished products. In contrast to single or multiple sugars, polysaccharides do not taste sweet; this taste develops only during the decomposition.

Sugar also acts as a preservative if added in more than 50 percent ratio. We can find it in Jelly, jams and sweet pickles, Marmalade, etc.

Uses of sugar-

There are various uses for sugar. Sugar is majorly used as a sweetening agent, colouring agent, can alter the texture of a product, delays the coagulation of egg protein, and affects the freezing point of an ice-cream. The lesser amount will make it set like ice and more of it will hamper the temperature of setting an ice cream. Sugar is also necessary for all the desserts/sweets. It is an essential source of food energy. If you talk about the fact that we need sugar as an energy supplier, then you should stick to the actual natural sugar. Namely to the sugar compounds that occur in plants, without having to be processed by us.

Black Pepper/Peppercorn

It is one of the most traded spices and one of the most common spices for any cuisine around the globe. The pepper shrub has its origin in Kerala in the southwest of India. The earliest records of Indian scholars on pepper as a sharp remedy date back to the first half of the second millennium BC. At that time his healing power was even sung about. Pepper needs high temperatures and much moisture. From the flowers arise the berry fritters, which are harvested for the pepper. Black pepper consists of peppercorns that are harvested just before maturity and dried at a moderate temperature. Mostly the whole fruit stand is picked as soon as a pepper fruit turns red. The berries are then stored at normal temperature overnight. After that, the pepper is dried in the sun, usually without technical aids.

Difference between pepper & chilly

Black Pepper has a mild taste while chilly is hot to taste. It is paired with salt to help make seasoning. It is produced from the still green groups of the pepper plant.

A pinch of black pepper added to any recipe works as more than just a flavor enhancer. Black pepper is also known as King of spices.

Health Benefits: -

As a remedy for indigestion and for the regulation of the gastric acidity in traditional Unani medicine a remedy called "Jawa Rishai Thurush" was made: a mixture of black pepper, ginger, salt, lemon juice, mint and the plant Vidanga (Embelia Ribes).

· A blend of sesame oil and finely ground black pepper was used as a cure for paralysis.

· Black pepper in honey was given for night blindness.

· The pepper oil was used to relieve itching.

· Black pepper was also used for a toothache: as an anti-inflammatory additive to toothpaste.

· As a paste, the finely ground grains were also applied to pus boils and various skin diseases.

· Unconscious and comatose patients were fed black pepper via the respiratory tract.

To add some more; it helps in weight loss and also has respiratory relief agents. It also has antibacterial qualities and antioxidant which are very healthy for our body. It enhances bioavailability, improves cognitive function, treats peptic ulcer, and prevents asthma as well.

Caution- It may cause excessive sneezing. Excessive use of black pepper for people going through abdominal surgery should be avoided. It can also irritate the intestine. Remember to discontinue its use if you see any sign of allergic reaction.