13 Household Uses For Table Salt

What would we do without salt? If you think about it, salt, both as an ingredient and as a mineral, has been very important for humans. In prehistoric times, salt was used to preserve meat, in ancient Egypt it was used to make mummies, and in both Judaism and Christianity salt was used in ritual and was considered holy (the word "salvation" stems from salt). But above all, salt has always been used for seasoning our food to heighten its flavor, bringing out nuances that we would never notice otherwise. It's obvious that salt has been very important to humankind. But these uses just brush the surface -- the Salt Institute claims that there are more than 14,000 ways to use salt.

We've created a list of our favorite 13 uses for salt in the kitchen, including cleaning up oven spills, removing wine stains, cleaning coffee pots and more. See our slideshow below.

Do you have any unique uses for salt besides seasoning? Leave a comment.