Are you worth your salt? A ‘salt of the earth’ character or do you ‘take things with a pinch of salt’? Salt has had a huge impact on our diets, language and even the landscape. The Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors are both criss-crossed by ancient paths and pannier-ways, once used to transport salt from the Yorkshire and Cumbrian coast.
Salt’s been used for thousands of years. A 6000 year-old Neolithic saltworks was recently found near Whitby.That’s even before the Pyramids and Stonehenge were built! Salt was a highly valued commodity, essential to preserve and flavour food.
When you’re paid a salary, the term goes back to Roman times. The Roman army were given an allowance (salt money) to buy salt to stay healthy, and sometimes paid in salt instead of money. Their ‘salarium’, eventually became a 'salary'. That’s also where the expression to be ‘worth your salt’ comes from. It’s thought the Romans also started the phrase ‘rub salt into a wound’ because they cleaned wounds with salt, even if it hurt!
We ‘salt away’ money to store it for later: salt lasts a long time and is a great preservative. The New Testament mentions people who’re ‘salt of the earth’: honest, reliable, maybe even indispensable people.
Taking ‘something with a pinch of salt’ came from the idea that you might need a little salt to make a dish more palatable.
Nowadays most salt is mass-produced and we take it for granted, but there's a growing number of small businesses starting to make 'real' salt. Whitby Sea Salt is one of these, a small family business who use traditional methods, including a restored fishing Coble boat, to harvest sea salt. It’s got incredible flavour, very different to mass-produced salt.
I’m sure there are many other salt-related expressions I’ve not mentioned. Can you think of any?
Photo: Paul Harris