• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CooksInfo

  • Home
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Recipes
  • Food Calendar
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar
×
Home » Beverages » Water » Mineral Water

Mineral Water

Mineral water is water that is sold in bottles at a premium over regular water. In consumers’ minds, mineral water contains enough minerals to change the taste of the water, and to possibly have some health benefits, even if it is just settling an overfed tummy.

Mineral waters are drawn, at least in theory, from natural springs. They may emerge from the ground cold, warm or hot. The taste of the water can generally be categorized as alkaline, bitter, sulphurous, salty, etc. The minerals present may include calcium, fluoride, iron, magnesium sulphate, and sodium. Some may be even slightly radioactive. Different combinations of minerals are said to be good for different ailments, internal and external.

To be called mineral water in America, there must be at least 250 parts per million of dissolved minerals in the water, and no minerals are allowed to be added. It must bear the designation “Natural Mineral Water.” Carbon dioxide, however, can be added to turn it into sparkling mineral water.

In Italy, the law forbids the sale of mineral in bottles larger than 2 litres.

Not all mineral waters are bottled. This occurs in instances where the asserted properties of the water are said to disappear very quickly after the water reaches the surface, whether bottled or not. This has the side benefit of promoting a local hotel business, because you must travel to the location to sample the waters. Tourist areas grew up around sites such as Bath in England, Vichy in France, Karlsbad in the Czech Republic, and Ukiah, California to accommodate those coming “to the waters.” Some cynics believe that most of the benefits that come from “taking the cure” at a mineral water spa can be attributed to rest and relaxation.

History Notes

In the 1800s, mineral water for drinking was sold at first in stoneware jugs, then glass bottles.

Carlsbad, California promoted its mineral waters by renaming itself in the 1800s to Carlsbad from “Frazier’s Station” and trading on the fame of Karlsbad (in what is now the Czech Republic.) They even built an imitation Germany-style building called the “Alt Karlsbad” in 1964.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler saw that as European territory was occupied, from the 1930s onwards, all mineral water production and profits became the property of his Schutzstaffel (SS). By 1942, the SS controlled all mineral water production in Europe. It was part of Himmler’s strategy to secure a source of funding for his activities that would be unaffected by other rivalries at the top of the Nazi party.

Other names

Italian: Acqua minerale
French: Eau minérale
Dutch: Mineraalwater
Spanish: Agua mineral

This page first published: Sep 2, 2005 · Updated: May 6, 2018.

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · Information on this site is Copyright © 2023· Feel free to cite correctly, but copying whole pages for your website is content theft and will be DCMA'd.

Tagged With: Water

Primary Sidebar

Search

    Today is

  • Italian Republic Day
    Italian sandwiches

Hi, I'm Skylar! This is a fake profile talking about how I switched to a paleo diet and it helped my eczema and I grew 4". Trust me, I'm an online doctor.

More about me →

Popular

  • E.D. Smith Pumpkin Purée
    E.D. Smith recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Libby's Pumpkin Pie
    Libby’s recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Pie crust
    Pie Crust Recipe
  • Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham
    Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham

You can duplicate your homepage's trending recipes section in the sidebar to reinforce the internal linking.

We no longer recommend using a search bar, newsletter form or category drop-down menu in the sidebar. See the Modern Sidebar post for details.

If the block editor is not narrower than usual, simply save the page and refresh it.

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About this site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright enforced!
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Site

  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · The text on this site is © Copyright.