A mainland friend and my family have been asking me to get some Hawaiian salt, the red alaea salt.  When searching where to buy it, I discovered the stuff in stores isn't the traditionally made stuff.  It's made elsewhere, mixed, or modern processed.  The real stuff is made in Hanapepe Kauai by a couple dozen families for cultural practices and cannot be sold.  It is gifted or bartered.  It's an interesting cultural practice

I posted a question on FB and a fellow 2A follower gave me some.  I'm going to use some to bless our attorneys on the SCOTUS steps next month.

Yes, you are correct. The supermarket salt isn't the real thing.
On my tongue, the supermarket "Hawaiian salt" has a funky chemical taste.

For a good everyday cooking substitute, I use morton kosher salt and Japanese sea salt. I compared these with real hanapepe salt that and they seemed really good.

I prefer the Himalayan sea salt myself. Straight from the shores of the Himalayas.

I use the one with the little girl holding the umbrella.

I prefer the Himalayan sea salt myself. Straight from the shores of the Himalayas.

Most pink salt labeled as Himalayan comes from Pakistan and has a high rate of heavy metal contamination. This is why Costco stopped selling it at most locations.

I'm going to sell Waikiki Sea Salt at the ABC stores.
It will be pink (like your sunburn) and have the pleasant odor of Hawaiian Tropics Suntan Lotion when added to anything cooking on a hot stove.

Not all Himalayan Pink Sea Salt is made equal.  The same goes for all sea salts in general.

Lots of testing going on, especially with the California safety standards now in effect for heavy metals in foods and additives.

Among the 23 tested products, Colima Sea Salt and Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt
stood out for having the lowest levels of heavy metals. Both salts showed minimal
traces of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, and lead, with some metals barely
detectable at all.

https://greenlivingtribe.com/celtic-salt-redmond-real-salt-tested-higher-than-multiple-other-salt-brands-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

This link is from an article where they did heavy metals testing on a variety of salts.  This list describes salt brands you should avoid.  Of the 17 on the "bad list," only 9 include the word "Himalayan" -- 8 if you don't count "Himalania". 

https://mamavation.com/food/sea-salt-himalayan-salt-heavy-metals-lead.html#Not_Our_Favorite_Salt_Products

My thought is that if you are concerned about heavy metals in that sprinkle of salt on your eggs, then you're eating way too much salt and have worse things to worry about.

My thought is that if you are concerned about heavy metals in that sprinkle of salt on your eggs, then you're eating way too much salt and have worse things to worry about.

Yeah, one article I read said that in order to get enough heavy metals from sea salt to be dangerous, you'd have to consume an on-the-verge-of-fatal amount of salt daily for a very long time.  The salt would cause organ failure before the heavy metals had a chance to do much.

I think the only real warning would be for lead in very young children.  Just like lead-based paint, it would not be fatal, but it can contribute to stunted mental development and neurological problems.

good thing no one on this forum displays those symptoms...

Yeah, one article I read said that in order to get enough heavy metals from sea salt to be dangerous, you'd have to consume an on-the-verge-of-fatal amount of salt daily for a very long time.  The salt would cause organ failure before the heavy metals had a chance to do much.

I think the only real warning would be for lead in very young children.  Just like lead-based paint, it would not be fatal, but it can contribute to stunted mental development and neurological problems.

My wife is from Kauai and her cousin is one of those who is allowed to harvest the salt.
We visited in 2021 and she gave us 2 gallons of that stuff.

Speaking of salt, Turkish chef Nusret of Salt Bae fame sold his truffle flavored salt for only $35 for a small little bottle.
This is cheap compared to his $1000 steak. I always believed that his unsanitary practice of bouncing sale off of his elbow
was for fools. Who was this character?


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P1_at2UMmS0?feature=share

I got my sea salt from Molokai--harvested with my fishing group.

Someone just gave us a bag of this salt from Kauai, cool stuff.

I have always wanted to build a distilling table to turn salt water into salt and clean fresh water for apocalypse type situations but they take up a lot of room.

Someone just gave us a bag of this salt from Kauai, cool stuff.

I have always wanted to build a distilling table to turn salt water into salt and clean fresh water for apocalypse type situations but they take up a lot of room.

Just fill a metal pan with water and put it in the sun.  The fish poo is what gives it the extra kick.

Just fill a metal pan with water and put it in the sun.  The fish poo is what gives it the extra kick.

No wonder the lomi salmon is so ono.

Just fill a metal pan with water and put it in the sun.  The fish poo is what gives it the extra kick.

There is more than just fish poo. The seawater also contains sea weeds and a variety of sea critters. It makes an organic monosodium glutamate.
I also think Himalayan pink salt may have started as yellow snow.

There is more than just fish poo. The seawater also contains sea weeds and a variety of sea critters. It makes an organic monosodium glutamate.
I also think Himalayan pink salt may have started as yellow snow.

I read pink salt was from the remains of the entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It explains the pink color at least!