( ko, 죽염), also known as bamboo salt, is a form of
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
. It is prepared by packing bay salt in a thick bamboo stem, and baking it nine times on high temperature using pine firewood. During the baking processes, the impurities in the bay salts are claimed to be removed or neutralized while its inorganic contents, such as calcium, potassium, iron, copper, and zinc are increased.
Production
To make ,
sea salt
Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...
is packed into
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
canisters and sealed with yellow clay. The mixture is baked in an iron oven and roasted in a
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
fire.
A bamboo stem is filled with bay salt produced from the west coast, sealed with red clay, and baked in a kiln with pine tree firewood. The baked salt lumps harden after baking. It is taken out, crushed, and repacked in the bamboo stem for the next cycle. During baking the salt absorbs the bamboo constituents that bring a distinctive sweetness, which is called Gamrojung flavor. Baking darkens the salt. The ninth baking process uses the highest temperature, over 1,000℃. Afterwards, the bamboo salt contains blue, yellow, red, white and black crystals.
Well-baked bamboo salt, with a temperature above 1,500℃, is called “purple bamboo salt” because of its unique purple color, which indicates the best quality. While the quality of bamboo salt cannot be solely determined by color, its crystal structure and hardiness is definitive.
Korean folk medicine
In
Korean folk medicine, trace elements in the yellow clay and
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
are thought to make this form of salt more healthy.
[John Shi, Chi-Tang Ho, Fereidoon Shahidi (ed) ''Asian functional foods'', CRC Press, 2005 pages 574-575] Historically, has been used as a digestive aid,
styptic
An antihemorrhagic (antihæmorrhagic) agent is a substance that promotes hemostasis (stops bleeding). It may also be known as a hemostatic (also spelled haemostatic) agent.
Antihemorrhagic agents used in medicine have various mechanisms of action: ...
,
disinfectant
A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than st ...
or
dentifrice
Dentifrices, including toothpowder and toothpaste, are agents used along with a toothbrush to clean and polish natural teeth. They are supplied in paste, powder, gel, or liquid form. Many dentifrices have been produced over the years, some focus ...
.
Oriental medicinalist Insan Kim Il-hoon (1909–1992), was (according to his institution)
the first to claim that could be used to treat cancer.
His other claims are that can be used to treat intestinal inflammation,
peptic ulcer disease
Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines i ...
,
dyspepsia
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...
, esophageal tumours and more.
References
{{Salt topics
Traditional Korean medicine
Salts