Obviously, I don’t think this is true. I’m just curious about whether I’ve just somehow missed this saying.
Today I was at a friend’s place and she was making rice. She offered me a bowl, commenting that she was afraid she may have put too much salt in it. When she tasted it, she said, “Yup, way too much… I must be in love.” Apparently this is a proverb or maxim that I’d never heard.
Is this a common saying, or was she yanking my chain? If so, what are its origins?
Where is your friend from? I’ve never heard of it, but it could be a regionalism.
I’ve never come across that saying here in Australia.
I’ve heard it. Mostly from Eastern Europeans. It’s a fairly common saying there.
Maybe it has something to do with the movie cliche of someone staring off into space, wistfully thinking of the one they love, when suddenly they hear someone shouting at them and they’ve poured a whole pot of coffee into their mug, overfilled someone’s gas tank, or emptied an entire shaker of salt onto someone’s fries?
My mom (who’s Indonesian) will make this quip when the maid oversalts the food.
It’s very common in southern Germany. Almost everyone says that the cook must have been in love if the food is too salty. As to the origins … I have no idea.
Interesting. Because GilaB asked, the cook in question is from Southern Florida, of Cuban descent, and is religiously but not ethnically Jewish. (She refers to herself as pure Cuban on both sides, so I’m guessing she doesn’t have or acknowledge an Eastern European ethnic history.)
Aesiron, I believe that it was in a movie I first heard this expression.
It was Iron Eagle - and Lou Gossett was explaining how the mission was going to go down, and the kid wasn’t getting something that should have been fairly obvious right, and Lou Gossett says “You must be in love” and then shows him the correct way in a kind of “DUH” like manner.
I say it to my husband when he does something completely boneheaded. 
Perhaps it could originate from the general tendency for men to like salty food while women like sweet food.