What did the Romans usually use salt for?

Answer 1

A multitude of things, most noteably the preservation of foods.. Remember, it wasnt until the early 1900's that refrigerators, freezers, and iceboxes were invented.. They werent made readily available to the public until the 1930's, and were so expensive that only wealthy families could afford such a luxery.. It wasn't until the late 40's that most American families were able to own an icebox or a refrigerator.. Prior to that crutial breakthrough, people had no way of preserving food, unless it was winter time.. And in places where it didnt get cold or snow, they had no way of preserving food, besides drying and curing it using salt.. Salt has tremendous antibiotic and anti microbial properties that helped prevent the growth of food born illness' and harmful bacteria.. Its also a diuretic, meaning it helps prevent the retention of water, which ultimately sped up the drying(curing) process.. This process of preserving food by drying and curing it with salt was primarily used with meats.. The process used and end result is very similar to that of modern day beef jerky, or other dehydrated foods, minus the processing and technology.. Hunters would make a kill, dress the kill(skin it for the hide, remove all eatible meat, and even harvest certain bones for tools or jewelery), remove a small portion of meat to be cooked over fire for dinner, then slice the rest into managable portions to be hung up and covered with salt and other herbs or spices, usually near the fire, but not close enough to actually cook the meat.. The low, ambient heat of the distant fire aids in the drying process.. Once the meat was fully dried and cured, it would again be sprinkled with salt, and would then be a readily available food source for months to come, if cured and stored properly.. As storing cured foods in an overly moist place would greatly impact the longevity of the preservation.. There was a period of time where salt was actually more valueable than pure gold, because of its many uses and integral role in preserving food.. So to say salt was a desrired commodity prior to the invention of modern preservation techniques would be a huge understatement!

Answer 2

In Roman times salt was used to preserve foods (meat, fish etc) in addition to its use as a seasoning. It was also considered so valuable, sometimes equal to gold by weight, that Roman soldiers received a portion of their pay in the form of salt. That's happens to be the source of the modern term for an employees pay, "salary".

Answer 3

The Romans used it for money.