Buying Large Amounts Of Salt

[zebba]

Guy I know is looking to purchase some large amounts of salt for curing meats. He's talking about kilos of the stuff, and Google has not been our friend so far. As this forum is such a goldmine of knowledge, I offered to post up here on his behalf.

His requirements:
- Initially looking at 10kg's
- Preferably high "Nitrite" (or is it Nitrate?). Aparantly this is better for curing.
- Preferably certified Organic. High school chem told me all those years ago (before the hippies stole the word "Organic") that "Organic Salt" would be an oxymoron, but anyway!

 

[Adamt]

Perhaps try a Italian grocer if you have one nearby.

Oh, and "organic salt" is not an oxymoron, some ionic liquids are salts with organic ions

edit: and by the way... That's a shitload of salt!

 

[Airgead]

Guy I know is looking to purchase some large amounts of salt for curing meats. He's talking about kilos of the stuff, and Google has not been our friend so far. As this forum is such a goldmine of knowledge, I offered to post up here on his behalf.

His requirements:
- Initially looking at 10kg's
- Preferably high "Nitrite" (or is it Nitrate?). Aparantly this is better for curing.
- Preferably certified Organic. High school chem told me all those years ago (before the hippies stole the word "Organic") that "Organic Salt" would be an oxymoron, but anyway!

Dunno about high nitrite but try Horizon. They do a hippy salt in 5kg catering packs. Their website sucks but the product is good (no affiliaction etc etc.. I just use the stuff in cooking).

http://www.horizonsalt.com/

You want the salt pearls.

Cheers
Dave

 

[jonocarroll]

I'm of no actual help on this matter, I'd just like to provide some semi-relevant entertainment...

http://cowbirdsinlove.com/407 (too large to hotlink).

 

[zebba]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll forward them on in due course.

Oh, and "organic salt" is not an oxymoron, some ionic liquids are salts with organic ions

I said I did chem, I didn't say I did well in it

QuantumBrewer - Love it!

 

[brettprevans]

U should have put this in the food section. U might have gotten more responses. I can hook u up with a wholesale supplier. I'll get u the info prices etc

 

[zebba]

U should have put this in the food section. U might have gotten more responses.

This is what happens when you only use the "All Latest Threads" option and never lookat the forum names

I can hook u up with a wholesale supplier. I'll get u the info prices etc

Legend

 

[katzke]

Find out where the restaurants buy their stuff from. We are in a small community here in the USA and we have a store that will sell to anyone but is mostly for restaurants. They have salt in the 25 or 50 pound bag. You can also get Soy Sauce in the 5 gallon bucket. I think I saw tobasco by the gallon. Also flour and sugar in big bags. That is the kind of place you need to look for.

If you can not find one or they will not sell to you talk to your favorite pub or restaurant and ask them if you can buy a bag through them. If you are chummy with your butcher ask them if they can get curing salts for making ham or bacon. Unless he is doing he butchering himself, that may be the best way, ask the butcher he is getting the meat from. There is always a way.

 

[Blackfish]

**Helmet on**

What about pool salt?

Yep, it's not "food grade" but what could possibly go wrong with it?
No worries with microorganisms, so I guess chemical contamination would be the concern, but you are supposed to be able to swim in it safely.

Just putting it out there. Last time I looked, pool salt was like $5 / 25Kg.

Flame on!

 

[zebba]

I actually saw that suggestion on a foody site blackfish. He wasn't interested cause he reckons his wife would freak out too much over it.

Thanks for the info peoples. I've passed it on and he is very appreciative.

 

[EZE-09Z]

dont know if this will help but i have a mate that does beef jerky and he uses sea salt.

he goes out in his boat a good distance and collects the saltwater and brings it home and boils it till he gets the salt.

this way you can have as much as you want.


hope it helps


Ernie

 

[Airgead]

dont know if this will help but i have a mate that does beef jerky and he uses sea salt.

he goes out in his boat a good distance and collects the saltwater and brings it home and boils it till he gets the salt.

this way you can have as much as you want.


hope it helps


Ernie

Not a bad idea but I'm not sure about the economies of boiling that much water. Average sea water has about 35g of salt/l. If we want say 1kg of salt, we need to boil about 28l of water (28.57 to be exact). 10kg would be 280l. That's going to take a lot of gas.

I think most traditional seat salt producers use the sun to evaporate off most of the water. Try pouring it out into a shallow pool in the sun (kids wading pool maybe?) and let the sun evaporate it down to a brine. You could then finish it off by boiling.

Cheers
Dave

 

[absinthe]

what you are after is curing salt or "pink" salt (its died pink cause its poisonous until it reacts with the fat and in the small quantities you use in curing its also not to bad),
i have tried curing with just sea salt and it wont work...

you are after a nitrate, so you will have problems finding it as its also a good oxidizer (used in bombs)

if you want sea salt ring someone like PFD or any other large dry goods supplier and get a bag of rock salt (20kg should be in the $10 or less mark i cant remember i have about 20 kg less and i got mine about a year ago)

i think you can just use sea salt to cure but you need to smoke it after curing

what he making i maybe able to help, im a chef and curing/pickling/smoking is a little passion of mine

 

[Steve]

im a chef and curing/pickling/smoking is a little passion of mine

Good god man! Get some recipes/how to's in the brew food section please? :beer:
Cheers
Steve

 

[zebba]

Thanks Absinthe - I'll pass it on.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Just stumbled across this.

We are using normal pool salt to cure our olives - seems almost everyone does unless they're using their salt selection as a point of differentiation.

 

[Mantis]

Wait till we have a couple of weeks of hot weather and you can get as much as you like from any of the dozens of salt lakes around here

 

[brettprevans]

im still waiting on a response form the wholesaler on their best price.
but they recon rock salt is just as good as anything labeled 'curing' salt

 

[Fourstar]

Guy I know is looking to purchase some large amounts of salt for curing meats. He's talking about kilos of the stuff, and Google has not been our friend so far. As this forum is such a goldmine of knowledge, I offered to post up here on his behalf.

His requirements:
- Initially looking at 10kg's
- Preferably high "Nitrite" (or is it Nitrate?). Aparantly this is better for curing.
- Preferably certified Organic. High school chem told me all those years ago (before the hippies stole the word "Organic") that "Organic Salt" would be an oxymoron, but anyway!

There is a big wholesale foods outlet opposite jaycar on abeckett st in the city. Best of all you can drive your car into the warehouse for parking whilst shopping. They have bulk salt, flour, tinned tomatoes, anything a nonna or papa would stock up on.

Oh they have bulk frozen berries too! :icon_drool2: I see a summer raspberry wheat coming up soon!

 

[brettprevans]

Oh they have bulk frozen berries too! :icon_drool2: I see a summer raspberry wheat coming up soon!

let me know how much bulk froz berries are. the kids get for frozen berries and yoghurt as desert, so we go through a fair bit. oh yeah and the brewing aspect!