Lots of uses for salt

We have stored quite a bit of salt in the 2011 Food Storage Challenge. Salt isn't just a seasoning though. In an emergency situation, it is a handy ingredient to have nearby.

Here are some useful things you can do with it:-

1. Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.
2. A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them fluffier when beaten.
3. Soak new toothbrushes in salt water before you use them; they will last longer.
4. Soak nuts in salt brine overnight and they will crack out of their shells whole. Just tap the end of the shell with a hammer to break it open easily.
5. Boil wooden clothes pegs in salt water before using them and they will last longer.
6. Put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker for easier pouring.
7. Soak stained handkerchiefs in salt water before washing.
8. Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet; let the salt soak up the stain.
9. Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.
10. Use salt to clean your discoloured coffee pot.
11. Soak fresh fish in salt water before descaling. The scales will come off easier.
12. Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs. A cracked egg will stay in its shell this way.
13. Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water. Fresh eggs sink, bad ones float.
14. Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods in a double boiler will make the food cook faster.
15. Clean your iron by rubbing some salt on a damp cloth, then rub the surface of the iron.
16. Use salt in the final rinse in your washing machine to prevent clothes from freezing.
17. Add raw potatoes to soups and stews that are too salty.
18. Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt water to prevent yellowing.
19. Gelatin sets quicker when a dash of salt is added.
20. Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.
21. Soak discoloured glass in a salt and vinegar solution to remove stains.
22. Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.
23. Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.
24. Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it whip more quickly.
25. Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.
26. If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spilled juice. The mess won't smell and will bake into a dry, light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled.
27. Sprinkle salt between pavement bricks where you don't want anything growing.
28. Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.
29. Use mildly salted water as a mouthwash if you have a sore throat.
30. Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.
    

I have also heard that milk will stay fresher if you add a little salt water, but I don't recommend this unless you really need that milk to last.

About 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt per adult per day is good for us. I'm not recommending you put it in everything, as our pre-prepared food these days usually has salt added to it already.

If you wish to store salt, Iodised salt is the best one. Our bodies require iodine to keep our organs and tissue in good condition.