salt
塩 centers on salt as a substance: the mineral used for seasoning and preservation.
塩 is the modern simplified form of 鹽. The older form is complex, involving 鹵 (salt) and 監 (phonetic/semantic). The modern form 塩 combines 土 (earth) with a simplified right side derived from 監, suggesting salt extracted from earth or brine.
The left side 土 (earth) suggests salt from the ground or evaporated from brine in earthen vessels. The right side looks like a container with a lid, holding the salt.
For エン, imagine an English salt shaker labeled 'EN' (as in 'end') because salt finishes a dish: EN -> エン.
salt; common salt; table salt; sodium chloride
salt; salt content
chlorine (Cl)
salty
chloridation; salification
salt water; brine
salty taste; saltiness
pickling in salt; food preserved in salt
base
hydrochloric acid
table salt
grilling (fish) with salt; broiling with salt
shiokara; paste made from salted fermented seafood (squid, fish entrails, etc.)
halite; rock salt
cone-shaped
saltpan; field for drying salt
seasoning; flavour; flavor; taste
salt pan (used for boiling seawater to make salt)
saltiness
salt damage (from seawater, sea air, etc.)