is sea salt the same as rock salt?

Question

exactly the same\/

Answer 1

No. Rock salt is coarsely crushed salt from any source, including mines in the ground. Sea salt is supposed to come from natural seaside ponds evaporated by the sun and contain the additional elements found in the ocean.

Answer 2

Sea salt is evaporated seawater - about 86% sodium, 10% magnesium and 2% each of potassium and calcium, mostly as chlorides but with a little sulfate.

Natural rock salt (halite) deposits are also evaporated seawater, but on a huge scale - a scale where a whole sea evaporates. In such cases the individual salts come out one by one in relatively pure deposits as the water evaporates and reaches saturation. The calcium comes out first as calcium carbonate, then the magnesium as a sulfate, and finally the potassium and the sodium as chlorides. These beds are far enough apart that one can mine individual components - for example, just the sodium chloride, which will typically be >95% sodium chloride, with the major contaminant being potassium. It is therefore subtly different from the original seawater.

Salt that is refined for consumption is generally pure sodium chloride. Occasionally coarse crystalline salt in its refined form is sold as "rock salt", although it is no longer a naturally occurring substance. This artificial variety contains none of the minor constituents of natural rock salt or sea salt.

Answer 3

Sea salt is taken from the dehydration of the sea. Taht is you'd evaporate it to get sea salt. Rock salt is mined just like coal is, underground and is used on roads to melt ice and ground up for table salt, koser salt etc

Answer 4

Essentially, yes. Rock salt is what's left over from the evaporation of ancient seas.

However, due to leaching of groundwater, rock salt probably has higher ratios of the less soluble salts, such as magnesium and calcium salts. This is admittedly just an educated guess.