Salt

Salt

Salt, also known as table salt or rock salt (halite), is a crystalline mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is absolutely essential for animal life, but can be harmful to animals and plants in excess. Salt is one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings and salting is an important method of food preservation. The taste of salt (saltiness) is one of the basic human tastes.

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Famous quotes containing the word salt:

    Come, dear children, let us away;
    Down and away below!
    Now my brothers call from the bay,
    Now the great winds shoreward blow,
    Now the salt tides seaward flow;
    Now the wild white horses play,
    Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.
    Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)

    Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
    Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 5:13.

    From the Sermon on the Mount.

    You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
    Bible: New Testament, Matthew 5:13.