Salt can also be used as a cooking vessel similar to clay or terracotta. Salt baking is a very ancient method that has recently become popular. Foods are encased in a sort of salt-dough and baked in a moderate oven. Initially this was done in a pit or near an open fire. After which, the crust is removed and discarded, the resulting product is succulent, flavorful and surpassingly not salty.
Preservation is also a main use of salt.
Foods coated with salt release some of their juices and, to a certain extent, dry out this increases the shelf life of perishables considerably. Prior to modern refrigeration this technique was of utmost importance, today though it s a matter of taste. As the name suggests it was originally a recipe that entailed salting and burying the fish in the coolness of the earth in order to preserve it. To make a contemporary gravlox, the fish is spiced and salted, then weighted and refrigerated for at least 72 hours.