There’s things that I used to hate, and for which I was pigeonholed as a fussy eater as a kid, which I now love. Broccoli, for instance. The reason I didn’t like it was because there was no flavour, and the flavour is only brought out by salt. At least with plain vegetables, you can do that at the table. In other recipes, as said many times above, it’s essential that a surprising amount of salt goes in during cooking.
That said, it doesn’t mean that the health guidance on reducing salt intake is wrong. It’s that you have to remember that you’re putting in enough salt for many portions, not just one. Think of it in comparison to the amount of sugar or butter going into a cake, for instance.
I agree - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a TV cook (except Delia, who measures everything precisely) say “and season it a bit”, without adding what I would consider to be a truly enormous amount of salt - not a pinch - a handful - they’re not sprinkling it on, they’re letting it run out of their clenched fist, through their fingers, like sand at the beach. It’s scary.
I think it might be one of those things you have to exaggerate in order for it to even be picked up properly by TV cameras, but they’re exaggerating more than is necessary.
I’ve noticed that Nigella has a liberal hand (if you know what I mean.). Jamie Olliver has a steady hand. I would expect Gordon Ramsey’s food to be underseasoned and dull, if I tried it.
I watch a lot of those cooking shows and see this too but because it’s been pounded into my head that “You can always add more salt later (and taste as you go along) but you can’t take it out if you’ve oversalted,” I’m okay with that.
I just recently started using sea salt and it tastes like salt, but different. I’m still getting used to using less, not because I’m being cautious, but because it does its job of enhancing the flavor so well. Very good though.
I’ve just gotten into making sauteed string beans with very hot olive oil, garlic and salt (saw Lidia do it). It wasn’t until my second time making it, when I added what I thought was too much salt that the dish came out “right” and got me hooked.
It is my understanding that TV chefs tend to use Kosher salt over table salt (which is more salty), and TV makes it look like the amount used is exaggerated. Lots of bright lights, etc.
Also, add me to the list of those who cook only with kosher salt and who use an absurd amount of it while cooking. I am an excellent cook.
A while back, though no one ever complained, I started getting self-conscious about the amount of salt I was tossing in at every stage of cooking and suddenly stopped, only salting at the very end. Suddenly, I couldn’t produce an edible dish to save my life. It wasn’t just that food wasn’t “salty” enough; even liberally salting it on the plate couldn’t fix the meal. Salt really develops the flavors of every single ingredient all throughout the cooking process.
Last month I ran out of kosher salt and couldn’t make it to the store to get any for about a week. I dug out a can of table salt that was in the back of the spice cabinet, and used that. It sucked :(. It was too sharply salty even in small amounts and had a weird metallic taste.
Someone in the audience asked what mistakes that American cooks made the most often. His response: assuming that their ovens are at the correct temperature and not salting their food enough. When asked about the health ramifications of salt, he responded that the processed food we eat has so much salt in it, that we are automatically consuming less salt by eating homemade food. The amount we put in is nowhere near what the factory puts in.
P.S. That’ll teach Lilshieste for letting me use his laptop!
I recently switched to kosher salt from table salt and it’s made a huge difference in my cooking. I don’t like salty food at all, so I tended to underseason. But this morning, my son was helping with the scrambled eggs and dumped in a goodly amount of kosher salt and pepper. The eggs actually tasted like something and they weren’t salty.
It also makes a difference when you add the salt. If you add it to the food during the prep and cooking, it’ll taste differently than if you add it to the finished dish. Food salted after cooking doesn’t taste good to me; it’s usually too salty. Food cooked with the same amount of salt is fine.
No, they are all the same once dissolved (NaCl). The texture can make the *mouth feel *different, however.
Some dudes *can *taste the Iodine in Iodized salt. Kosher salt is not Iodized, but you can get table salt in un-iodized versions. Sea-salt comes both ways. Kosher salt (other than the iodine issue) has a differnt, larger grain and texture. The flavor is exactly the same once dissolved. Kosher salt, by volume, is around half that of table salt, due to the large grains. Another reason why chefs prefer it, it’s easier to control.
Grey Salt, as** HelloKitty** asked about, does have a slightly different flavor. But not for cooking, really, even that, once dissolved is hard to taste. Sprinkled on a steak, etc, however, the taste is different and IMHO better. Used in this way, it really isn’t all that expensive.
It is true that Salt and MSG are both things that can make bland food taste better. If you think you have found the missing flavor in foods by addin salt, wait until you try MSG.
For a few dudes with high blood pressure, etc, please ask your MD about your Sodium intake. Although I find the worries about Sodium mostly over-blown for most healthy adults, it can be a serious problem for a significant minority.
If you entirely skip iodized salt, you may be in risk of an iodine deficiency.
They always put in too much salt. Always. The number of foods that improved the the amount of salt shown on the average cooking show is very small: the only recipe I use that I even think of adding salt to are potato latkes.
Food tastes perfectly good without added salt. Salt only makes it taste salty, which is OK for some foods, but unnecessary for most meat dishes.
I just think everybody has different salt sensitivities. I disagree very much with “salt only makes it taste salty.” No, it doesn’t. Salt is sort of a flavor amplifier. It makes things taste more like themselves, if that makes any sense. Salt is even added to many desserts for this reason. I assure you many of the sweets you eat have salt in them, and it’s certainly not to make them taste salty.
And salt unnecessary for meat dishes? Again, strongly disagreed.
That said, when I cook I generally try to slightly undersalt the dish for people who are more sensitive to salt. I also always buy unsalted butter (although I always sprinkle a little bit of salt on it if I’m eating it plain on bread) and low-sodium broth because I could control the salt amounts in dishes. Yes, I believe foods can be oversalted. Easily so. But I disagree with your main points.
Grey salt is one kind of un-purified sea salt. I was thinking along the lines of Fleur de Sel, French or Italian sea salt, Hawaiian sea salt, and the like, all of which are unrefined. I think only American sea salts are commonly refined, although I may be wrong about that.
I use obscene amounts of salt. Pasta water usually gets a whole handful thrown in, while just about everything else gets a generous pinch per serving unless there are already-salted things going in (ie. bacon, soy sauce, fish sauce).
My MIL would probably have a freakout if she knew her son’s sodium intake (she’s a bit… well, a lot… of a health nut). Then again, there’s a reason why he likes my cooking better. strut
This thread has got me thinking about next summer and watermelon… I like putting salt on watermelon. Call me crazy. Even though I have Kosher and sea salt in the kitchen, I have only tried table salt on my watermelon. Next summer I will have to experiment.