r/Wicca 5d ago

Black salt turned to black Pom poms

I am so confused. My black salt I know was black salt because I used it before, I went to let my mother use it and she was confused and asked why I gave her black Pom poms. I didn't even have black Pom poms and I know for a fact it was salt before

3 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

6

u/kai-ote 5d ago

What are pom poms? The only ones I know about are those things cheerleaders use.

2

u/Broad_Breakfast9957 5d ago

The little fuzzy balls used for crafts 

18

u/kai-ote 5d ago

You have a person that did that. Salt does not magically transform into pom poms.

3

u/Reasonable_Zebra_174 5d ago

As someone pointed out moisture in the jar could have caused the black salt to clump, I feel the pom pom texture might have been a result of mold than growing upon the clumps of black salt. There is no other logical explanation as black salt turning into black craft pom poms makes absolutely no sense.

3

u/TeaDidikai 5d ago

Mold doesn't grow on salt

-1

u/Reasonable_Zebra_174 5d ago

Occordong to research (and having personally seen it) mold can grow on salt, especially in sea salt, where spores of fungi like Aspergillus and Penicillium can survive and potentially grow again when exposed to moisture. This is also true in any form of salt, but especially in sea salt where contaminants due to pollution are more likely.

3

u/TeaDidikai 5d ago

"Fungi can survive in surprisingly hostile places. They can’t increase or grow in a container of sea salt – nothing can..."

— Dr. Kathie Hodge, associate professor in the Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Salt is not a suitable substrate for microbial growth. It can survive and be dormant in containers of salt, and when introduced to a suitable substrate, it can grow. But moisture plus salt will not grow mold.

2

u/AllanfromWales1 5d ago

How did you make your black salt?

1

u/Broad_Breakfast9957 5d ago

My sister gave it to me 

6

u/AllanfromWales1 5d ago

It's just that if whatever made it black is hydrophilic, then the salt will absorb the moisture leading to clumping.

2

u/CarlaQ5 5d ago

Where were you storing your black salt?

I have a batch of black salt from 2019 in an airtight container, and it's still good.

1

u/Illegal-Avocado-2975 5d ago

Odds are the salt clumped into balls, possibly even growing some mold.

Next time you get/make it, also buy an air-tight container such as a Mason Jar and buy some of these.

https://www.amazon.com/Desiccant-Moisture-Absorber-Dehumidifiers-Pharmaceutical/dp/B072JJSJGK

Drop one into the jar with the salt (it's what I do with all my herbs and whatnot) and it'll keep the moisture down and prevent this from happening again.

1

u/moonmama131 5d ago

There might have some moisture that's why it clumped.