The first time I saw illuminated salt crystals was in a salt mine in Berchtesgaden, Germany in 1974. Backed by light, these football-sized chunks of natural salt emitted a red, yellow and orange glow as light filtered through the minerals of these translucent rocks. Seeing them in the darkness of the caverns was an unexpected delight.

More recently, Himalayan salt has been touted as “the purest form of salt of earth.” This is owing to the depths in the earth …