That borsch is not yet cooked to be eaten without salt
(c) Ukrainian proverb.
The Milky Way is our “cosmic home”. It is a long, bright streak in the night sky formed by billions of stars, planets, nebulae, including the Sun and Earth. It is interesting that its name in most languages includes the word “milk” because it looks like someone has spilled a strip of milk in the night sky. Some peoples identify this light streak with a river or straw. Only in Ukrainian does its name sound like “Milky Way”. For many centuries, Ukrainian Chumaks walked along this star-like endless strip of forests, mountains, and fields. They carried various goods on their wagons, the most valuable of which was salt. What is the value of salt and who were the Chumaks really? Let's find out together.
How did salt get to our table?
The salty taste has been familiar to humans since ancient times, although the form of salt we are used to did not appear immediately. In ancient times, dishes were flavored with sea water, ash from salt marsh plants, seaweed, or even animal blood. Salted food tasted better and satisfied hunger better.
The inhabitants of the sea coasts and salt marshes were the first to learn about “real salt” when they began to collect the white coating that remained on rocks and stones after the sea water dried. People who lived inland and had access only to fresh water discovered salt much later.
Initially, Ukraine was home to self-salt, which came from the sea, estuaries, salt lakes, and reservoirs, such as in the south of the country. Later, table salt appeared. It is still mined in Drohobych: a strong salt solution, brine, is extracted from shallow wells and boiled in vats. There is also rock salt, which is extracted from natural deposits in mines. It has a coarser texture and mineral impurities that add flavor. Perhaps the most famous in the world is Himalayan salt, which is pinkish-yellowish in color and is mined in the Himalayas. It contains impurities of minerals such as iron, potassium, and magnesium.
Ukraine has known salt since antiquity - Greek colonies in the south used to export it to Greece. It was valued not only as a seasoning, but also as a way to preserve food, a means of payment, and a symbol of purity. In many cultures, including Ukrainian, salt had a sacred meaning. It purified, protected, and united.
In Ukraine, guests were greeted with bread and salt on a towel as a wish for peace and prosperity. Newlyweds tasted bread and salt to make their marriage strong. Spilling salt is a bad omen. To protect against evil, it was put in the corners of the house, carried in small bags, and used in rituals. In some areas, it was even put on the chest of the deceased or on the coffin to cleanse the path of the soul and protect it from evil spirits.
Where did those who lived far from the sea or salt lakes get their salt from?
Chumaks and the “salt road”
Chumaks, Ukrainian traders and carriers, were known from the late 15th to the early 20th century. They traveled long distances, covering all of Ukraine and stretching as far as the Caucasus. They transported salt as their main commodity, as well as grain, fish, alcohol, honey, wax, fabrics, various household items, and other goods.
Today they can be called peasants with entrepreneurial skills, merchants on wheels, or rural entrepreneurs. Most of the Chumaks lived in villages, had their own oxen and carts, and were wealthy. At the same time, they cannot be equated with city merchants. Unlike them, the Chumaks remained rural people and did not have the legal rights and privileges of the townspeople. They traveled independently, bought goods, brought them back, and sold them. And merchants could never leave the city using the services of intermediaries in the delivery of goods. The Chumaks were entrepreneurial and their profits depended on the season, the road, the weather, and the attack of robbers. They were a middle class of traders. Merchants, especially guild or wealthy ones, had a large turnover of money and could influence trade in the entire region. They were part of the urban elite.
The Chumaks were very organized, had their own traditions, customs, and even legends. Let us recall the name “Milky Way”. There is a belief that this is a trail left by the Chumaks returning from the Crimea, and salt fell from their carts, creating a bright streak in the sky. Before leaving, the Chumaks gathered in groups or caravans (several dozen carts). They always went to church and asked their parents, wives, and older relatives for a good and safe journey.
They believed in various signs. Before leaving, one could not quarrel, and it was advisable not to talk to anyone in the morning so as not to jinx the road. It was not a good sign for them to meet a woman on the road, but a man was a good sign. If the oxen behaved restlessly, the journey would be difficult. In general, oxen were treated in a special way; they were fed better than people. They were cleaned, horseshoes were changed, and given a rest before the journey. If an ox got sick on the road, the whole group would stop and treat the animal.
The Chumaks stayed together throughout the long journey. They were led by an ataman. He decided when and where to stop, whom to take on the road, whom to trust. The Chumaks had various agreements regarding trade, for example, not to undercut each other's prices. If someone's cart broke down, the group would stop and everyone would help fix it together. The road was marked with special signs - stones, piles of earth, branches - so that other caravans could recognize them.
The travelers ate simple, nourishing food: bread, cereals, lard, dried meat and fish, and dried fruit. They cooked kuleshi-cereal porridge with lard. We spent the night in the open air, near the wagons. In the evenings, they told stories and sang. Many famous Ukrainian songs spread because of the Chumaks, who heard them in different parts of the country. They also brought news with their songs, telling what was happening along their way. Speaking of traditions, it is worth mentioning burials on the road. For the deceased Chumak, they made a simple grave in the field, put a wooden cross, and left a certain sign on the cross that was understandable to the Chumaks. Whenever they met such crosses on the road, everyone would stop and pay their respects to the deceased.
In general, the Chumaks were a very solidary, courageous, hardy, and wise community with their own code of honor.
Since the main commodity of the Chumaks was salt, their roads were called “salt routes.” They brought salt from the south of Ukraine, where it was mined in the open air-from salt lakes and estuaries. The most famous place was Lake Syvash (now Kherson region), or as it was also called, the Rotten Sea. It was said of this road: “to go to Syvash for salt”. The journey there and back could take from two to six months-a real challenge. The Chumaks from the north and center of Ukraine traveled to the Crimea via Perekop, a narrow isthmus connecting the mainland to the peninsula, where there were large salt lakes. Chongar and Henichesk are located near Syvash. Their salt estuaries also produced high-quality salt. The Kuyalnytsia estuary near Odesa and the Tuzly estuaries in Bessarabia were smaller in terms of production.
In the west of our country, boiled salt was mined. On the territory of the modern Ivano-Frankivsk region, it was boiled in Kolomyia, Solotvyno (not to be confused with Solotvyno in Zakarpattia, described below), Kosiv (the brine sources were in the village of Stari Kuty), and Tysmenytsia. In the Lviv region, in Rozdol near Mykolaiv and Drohobych. It is the Drohobych saltworks, which has been known since the eleventh century, that still operates as an enterprise and a unique museum.
At the end of the eighteenth century, industrial production of rock salt began in Zakarpattia in the Solotvyno mines. It is known that rock salt deposits were formed here millions of years ago. Today, Solotvyno is also known for its salt lakes and healing mines.
The Chumak salt routes were not limited to the territory of Ukraine. They actively traded with neighboring countries, as the borders in the fifteenth and early twentieth centuries were more conditional. Most often, the Chumaks transported self-generated salt to the Principality of Moldova (modern Moldova), through Podillia and Bessarabia. Through the northern lands, salt was transported to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the territory of modern Belarus), which did not have its own salt production. The salt routes to Muscovy and later the Russian Empire ran through Slobozhanshchyna and the Left Bank. From the southern ports, salt was transported to the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish and Balkan markets. In this part of the country, the Chumaks traded through intermediaries - Turks or Greek merchants. Boiled salt was transported to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern Poland) to fairs in Krakow, Lublin, and Zamość through Volyn and Galicia. It was a famous salt route: Drohobych - Skhidnytsia or the surrounding area - the rock fortress of Tustan (the village of Urych), a customs point where fees were charged for salt transportation from the XII to the XVI century - the Veretsky Pass (one of the most passable routes through the Carpathians, called the “Gate of Rus”) - Zakarpattia - Central and Western Europe, depending on the trade direction.
With the development of industry, the emergence of railroads and other transportation, the Chumaks gradually turned into legendary figures sung in literature and folk legends.
The use and benefits of salt in the modern world
Salt is used in cooking, industry, medicine and agriculture. It is an important ingredient in the production of chemicals, water purification and as a deicing agent on roads in winter.
Salt has a wide range of beneficial properties. It emphasizes the natural flavors of food and makes it taste better. It prevents the growth of bacteria and keeps food fresh for a long time - this property is used for salting and preserving various products. Salt also helps to soften vegetables, make meat juicy or create a crispy crust. It is directly involved in maintaining the balance of fluids in the body. Its excess or deficiency can affect health.
In modern cooking, salt is used not only in its pure form, but also as a flavorful seasoning for all kinds of dishes. Craftsmen have learned to combine salt with dried herbs, pepper, nuts, garlic, and onions. A great selection of salt-based craft spices is available on the ZeKraft platform https://itscraft.com.ua/kraftovi-spetsii/
Salt is widely used in cosmetics. It is a popular ingredient for scrubs and peels. Due to its texture, salt in combination with essential oils and herbal supplements effectively exfoliates dead skin cells, improves blood circulation, and makes the skin soft and smooth. It has the ability to remove toxins from the body, it is used in cosmetics for deep cleansing of the skin, as well as to combat acne and other skin problems. It is added to baths to relax muscles and relieve tension. It has antiseptic properties, which helps to heal minor wounds and irritations. To learn more about the use of salt in cosmetics, please visit https://itscraft.com.ua/solyaniy-skrab-bergamot-sivash/
Artemsil: a symbol of strength
Instead of summarizing, let's mention another type of salt - indestructible. Industrial salt production began in Donetsk Oblast in the late 19th century. In 1976, Artemsil was established with its administrative center in Soledar. It was one of the largest salt mining enterprises in Europe. It consisted of five mines with a complete production cycle, auxiliary services, housing and social funds. After the outbreak of a full-scale war, its operations were halted. In 2023, together with the UNITED24 platform, a special batch of salt called “Mitz” was released.
The salt, which has absorbed the spirit of the land, the strength of the miners and the dignity of the whole nation, has become a symbol of our resilience. And we, Ukrainians, the unbreakable descendants of Chumaks, Cossacks and farmers, are strong as salt and endlessly devoted to our native land.
Prepared by Olena Koval
Sources used
https://seasalt.com.ua/zdorov-ya-ta-krasa/zdorove-harchuvannya/tsikavo-pro-sil/istoriya-soli-2-2
https://cbs.poltava.ua/index.php/novyny/3643-istoriya-zi-smakom-soli
https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A7%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%86%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE
Photo/picture references: all images are from Pinterest.
