Long term salt storage

I have realized that my stored salt, in it's cardboard boxes, is vulnerable to moisture. Glass is inert, but could break, and I don't have nearly enough to think about the 5-gallon bucket storage. I have other dry goods stored in cleaned-out juice bottles. Could salt be done that way too, or would it's corrosive properties do nasty things to the plastic - and the salt?

my salt is in 500g boxes so i just put the box in a vacuum packer bag and vacuum packed it. that way the salt is not in direct contact with the plastic.

Should be fine- we store it in a Nalgene at my folks.

Yeah, there are a lot of them around... they follow me home like strays....

salt... ? I'm totally missing the point of having salt, besides drying the heck out of something.

Me? I keep my salt in the blue cylinder canister that I bought it in. I think I've had the same one for like the last 4 years...

Salt is needed for life. And unless you live along a coast line, it isn't naturally occuring.

And turns into a solid salt lick it absorbs enough moisture. :P

Quite a bit of salt will fit into a well-washed plastic quart mayonnaise jar or peanut butter jar. It may need a replacement gasket, but that's doable.

Sue

Nalgene gets my vote for a good way to store it.

The whole thing is the seal. If it isn't air tight, and you are in any kind of a moist environment, your salt is toast. Rubbermade salt/pepper "plastic" shakers are not adversly effected by the salt itself, but they are not sealed well enough to prevent moisture from causing the salt to clump. This I know for a fact...

I know that some outdoor restaurants put uncooked rice with the salt in their salt shakers, see it more in the caribbean than the coasts of north america... could this be a viable solution for long term storage of salt?

Of course the other question is - so it becomes a salt block (thinking LONG term storage) - flake off, grind off, etc what you need when you need it

We tried the rice thing in our Rubbermade shakers while in the Pacific Northwest. Didn't help. But those shakers stayed outside by the little BBQ all the time, exposed to all that moisture, so it may not have been a fair test...

Kosher salt is much more reistant to moisture and clumping than iodized/table salt or pickling salt.

I keep mine in an unsealed container on my counter right next to all kinds of moisture sources (cook top, microwave, etc) and have never had an issue with moisture messing up my salt. I usually keep about 3 cups worth so it sits for quite a while before being refilled.

The box sits in my pantry unsealed too and I've never had it clump or turn into a salt lick.

The rice in the salt shaker is more to keep the salt in the shaker from clumping, since I don't think I've ever seen someone dump out a shaker before they refill them. Usually it's a top-off at the end of the day.

Yes Ironraven, I know salt is needed for life. It also happens I did grow up near the Pacific... but I digress.

Again, what's the point of keeping salt? It's so common it's scary. Most food has salt in it. More so if you're storing pre-packaged food. That's why those 2gram, low-sodium diets are so hard for cardiac patients. Heck, even soda has sodium in it.

Salt is not a bad commodity choice for long term storage. It's useful for preserving meat, processing hides for leather, an alternative shotgun projectile, coating the rim of a margarita glass, tossing on the walks in the winter...all things that figure in to a post-Armageddon world. Perhaps condiment salt is the wrong choice for bulk storage- a bag of rock salt probably keeps better, or even a farmer's salt block. Nalgene is always the right answer for storing corrosives-it is one of the least reactive plastics, and nalgene bottles started life as labware for storage of hydrofluoric acid, which will eat its way through glass. Regarding access to mineral salt, there are salt mines in MI, KS, TX and NY (http://www.saltinstitute.org/14.html) I didn't know there was a salt institute-ain't the internet great?

Thanks nursemike. I knew it could be used for meat preservation (and margaritas, or tequila shots). Otherwise, it has no real benefit that I knew.

Why not put the original salt containers in a (gallon size) ziplock freezerbag with some food grade desiccant packets.

Rice isn't super effective to prevent clumping because it breaks up over time (and you get little bits of hard rice in your salt) and it's a myth that it obsorbs the moisture. If that were true you could hydrate and eat rice by putting it in a bowl on your counter on a hot, humid day.

Unpopped pop corn works great. Bashes the clumps into bits and won't break up ever.

Nursemike, thank you for the link. I also came across this page in my search for a good page on uses for salt (from the Salt Institute). This is the best list I have seen so far: http://www.saltinstitute.org/29.html

I use salt mostly for healing and to prevent colds, sore throats and sinus infections. I highly recommend it for that if nothing else. You can use it as a nasal spray too, to help prevent sinus infections.

If you ever run out of toothpaste you can use salt. It kills bacteria and helps heal gum problems. If I have any kind of gum problem I use salt and Oil of Oregano and it heals it almost immediately. I don't know if this works for all gum problems, but the ones I have it does. You can use it on dental floss to get between your teeth for gum problems there.

You can also use it for some eye problems, like sty's.

It can remove rust from certain things by mixing it with vinegar and sometimes lemon juice.

I read in a bartering book that it is good to have for bartering.

I found this article on storing salt:
http://www.zetatalk.com/food/tfood11j.htm

I hope that helps.

Joy

"...an alternative shotgun projectile..."

I like that one. Better be rock salt though, regular salt won't go far from the muzzle...

I just copied some of my favorite uses for salt from the Salt Institute page I posted above. There are a lot of uses there that I never knew about. Like these:

But first, I am wondering if any of you think the first 2 salt suggestions below might come in handy while you are hiking in the snow to keep your clothes and stuff from freezing and developing frost, etc? I realize there are some things that you would NOT want to rub salt on.

Uses for Salt:
Frost: If you hang your clothes outside during winter, you will like this one. Use salt in your final rinse to keep your clothes from freezing on the line. You can also use salt water on your clothes line to keep it from freezing too.

Rubbing a small cloth bag containing salt that has been moistened on your car's windshield will keep snow and ice from collecting.

Keeping windows frost-free - Rub the inside of windows with a sponge dipped in a saltwater solution and rub dry; the windows will not frost up in sub-freezing weather.

Improving coffee - A pinch of salt in coffee will enhance the flavor and remove the bitterness of over-cooked coffee.

Keeping milk fresh - Adding a pinch of salt to milk will keep it fresh longer.

Preventing browning - Apples, pears and potatoes dropped in cold, lightly salted water as they are peeled will retain their color.

Boiling Water - Salt added to water makes the water boil at a higher temperature, thus reducing cooking time. (It does not make the water boil faster.)

Cleaning greasy pans - The greasiest iron pan will wash easily if you put a little salt in it and wipe with paper.

Cleaning stained cups - Rubbing with salt will remove stubborn tea or coffee stains from cups.

"Sweetening" containers - Salt can "sweeten" and deodorize thermos bottles and jugs, decanters and other closed containers.

Preventing mold - To prevent mold on cheese, wrap it in a cloth dampened with saltwater before refrigerating.

Drip-proofing candles - Soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few hours, then dry them well. When burned they will not drip.

Killing poison ivy - Mix three pounds of salt with a gallon of soapy water and apply to leaves and stems with a sprayer.

Maybe that last one will work with poison oak too! If you have tried any of these and they do NOT work, I would like to know?

Joy

My salt is bought either in large plastic containers, small plastic containers with a spout, or plastic bags (for refilling the other two). I don't know how air-tight it all is but I've never had a problem.

Sugar comes in paper bags and likewise lasts more or less forever.

I think it's important stuff not to run out of, purely as a flavour enhancer. There's a variant of the Cinderella story in which the father asks his 3 daughters how much they love him.

"I love you more than gold and silver" says the first.
"I love you more than diamonds and rubies" says the second.
"I love you more than salt" says Cinderella.

Hence Cinderella falls out of favour because the father thinks salt is without value, and he doesn't intercede when poor Cinders gets mistreated by the other two. He was, needless to say, completely wrong. As another wise man is reputed to remark, "if salt loses its taste, how will it be made salty again?" (Matthew 5:13).