Cooking & Salt

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

aem said:

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be.

Amen.

Quoted message said:

-aem

--Bryan

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

To top it off, a lot of people, including a pitiful number of
physicians, think that anyone with high BP (or who is trying to avoid
high BP) should restrict salt. It's been known for quite a while that
dietary salt (within reasonable limits) has no effect on BP for most
people. There are a few people with salt-sensitive hypertension, but
they are the exception.

--
Peter Aitken

aem said:

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

School is out, aem. Time to flood newsgroups with "revelations". And I
agree with you, so many people use so little salt, everything is absolutely
tasteless. But salt will kill you! Salt causes high blood pressure. No,
it doesn't.

aem said:

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have read too many noted chefs and food scientists lately, that have
said this. Salt doesn't just make things salty, if it is added during
the cooking: it helps expand flavors and develop them. If salted is
added at the end of cooking, food just tastes salty. And you end up
using more salt than you would if you added it during the cooking
process.

I know we have talked about this ad nauseum on rfc, but I am amazed at
folks that won't even try to test it out. It's isn't a hard
experiment. Just try cooking one of your normal dishes, and add salt
at a different point in the process. For instance, if you only salt
at the end, try adding it a bit earlier, say when sweating vegetables.
Or salt the chicken before you roast it...say a few days before. The
difference can be amazing.
It's not a difficult experiment. 😉 And you might be very surprised.

Christine

One time on Usenet said:

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

Huh -- Mom & Gramma taught me to do all those things. And here I
was worried I was oversalting. We (DH, DS, & I) generally don't
sprinkle it on our meals after cooking, though...

--
Jani in WA

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

javawizard said:

The average American eats 20 to 30 times as much salt as is required
for good health. [snip useless link]

Blah, blah, blah. You think we'll click on a link to find out about
this revelation?

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

I know to salt water for pasta, rice and potatoes. I don't do much in the
way of fried foods. I do sprinkle salt on French fries, popcorn and often
on green salad. I don't eat dressing. Just like the crunchy veggies. For
most things I find I can cut back some on the salt, but it's necessary for
those few things and also for baking.

My mom doesn't salt food when she cooks it, thinking she is doing a good
thing, then tells us to salt it afterwards if we want more salt. That never
works. Just makes the food taste bland yet salty.

"Peter A" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

To top it off, a lot of people, including a pitiful number of
physicians, think that anyone with high BP (or who is trying to avoid
high BP) should restrict salt. It's been known for quite a while that
dietary salt (within reasonable limits) has no effect on BP for most
people. There are a few people with salt-sensitive hypertension, but
they are the exception.

Quite true. I believe those who respond to the low sodium diet are
something like 15%.

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 05:21:08 GMT, "Julie Bove" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My mom doesn't salt food when she cooks it, thinking she is doing a good
thing, then tells us to salt it afterwards if we want more salt. That never
works. Just makes the food taste bland yet salty.

I agree. Add a moderate amount of salt while cooking, then you won't
need to salt at the table.
--

History is a vast early warning system
Norman Cousins

Christine Dabney said:

aem said:

Most home cooks using fresh ingredients, in my observation, use too
little salt for best tasting results. And they don't use it at the
right times. They fail to salt pasta water, they fail to salt the
water for boiling potatoes, they fail to salt deep fried things
_immediately_ upon draining, they fail to salt aromatics when they
sweat them at the beginning of a recipe, they fail to salt the chicken
before they roast it, etc., etc., etc. Then they sprinkle some salt
over the dish at the end and wonder why it isn't as flavorful as it
should be. -aem

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have read too many noted chefs and food scientists lately, that have
said this. Salt doesn't just make things salty, if it is added during
the cooking: it helps expand flavors and develop them. If salted is
added at the end of cooking, food just tastes salty. And you end up
using more salt than you would if you added it during the cooking
process.

I know we have talked about this ad nauseum on rfc, but I am amazed at
folks that won't even try to test it out. It's isn't a hard
experiment. Just try cooking one of your normal dishes, and add salt
at a different point in the process. For instance, if you only salt
at the end, try adding it a bit earlier, say when sweating vegetables.
Or salt the chicken before you roast it...say a few days before. The
difference can be amazing.
It's not a difficult experiment. 😉 And you might be very surprised.

Christine

do you find that to be true when boiling potatoes? i can see it while
sweating onions, but i usually forget.

your pal,
blake

Another goos reason to salt potatoes and noodles when boiling is
that salt increases the temperature at which water boils.

Phil wrote on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:35:00 -0500:

PE> Another goos reason to salt potatoes and noodles when
PE> boiling is that salt increases the temperature at which
PE> water boils.

The rise in boiling point is very small unless you use vast
quantities of salt.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Chefs add quite a bit of salt to the water to achieve this.

The food being cooked does not take on a lot of this salt during
the cooking process.
Boiling Points of Water
From the book Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
Salt: Salt, sugar, and practically any other substance elevates the
boiling point and therefore shortens cooking time. The difference in
temperature between unsalted and salted water (one teaspoon of
salt per quart of water) is about 1° to 2° F, a difference that can
be critical in cooking situations demanding exactness.

In article <[email hidden]>, phil1
@writeme.com says...

Quoted message said:

Another goos reason to salt potatoes and noodles when boiling is
that salt increases the temperature at which water boils.

By an extremely small amount that makes no difference whatsoever in the
final result.

--
Peter Aitken

Phil wrote on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:01:14 -0500:

PE> Chefs add quite a bit of salt to the water to achieve this.

PE> The food being cooked does not take on a lot of this salt
PE> during the cooking process.
PE> Boiling Points of Water
PE> From the book Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
PE> Salt: Salt, sugar, and practically any other substance
elevates
PE> the boiling point and therefore shortens cooking time. The
PE> difference in temperature between unsalted and salted water
PE> (one teaspoon of salt per quart of water) is about 1° to 2°
PE> F, a difference that can be critical in cooking situations
PE> demanding exactness.

I haven't got time today to calculate it but either you or
Howard Hillman are way out!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James wrote to Phil Evans on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:04:58 GMT:

PE>> Chefs add quite a bit of salt to the water to achieve
PE>> this.

PE>> The food being cooked does not take on a lot of this salt
PE>> during the cooking process.
PE>> Boiling Points of Water
PE>> From the book Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
PE>> Salt: Salt, sugar, and practically any other substance
JS> elevates
PE>> the boiling point and therefore shortens cooking time. The
PE>> difference in temperature between unsalted and salted
PE>> water (one teaspoon of salt per quart of water) is about
PE>> 1° to 2° F, a difference that can be critical in cooking
PE>> situations demanding exactness.

JS> I haven't got time today to calculate it but either you or
JS> Howard Hillman are way out!

JS> James Silverton
JS> Potomac, Maryland

OK, I have got time; a gram molecular weight of NaCl is 58.45g
(roughly 2oz and that's a lot!) and it would raise the boiling
point of 2 liters (say rather inexactly 2 quarts) of water by
about 0.5°F

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

To be honest there does appear to be 2 camps on the adding salt to
water for increasing boiling temperature.

Have been doing some surfing and some think its critical others
pooh hoo it.

In article <_Bbli.2050$YH3.1110@trnddc08>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Phil wrote on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:01:14 -0500:

PE> Chefs add quite a bit of salt to the water to achieve this.

PE> The food being cooked does not take on a lot of this salt
PE> during the cooking process.
PE> Boiling Points of Water
PE> From the book Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
PE> Salt: Salt, sugar, and practically any other substance
elevates
PE> the boiling point and therefore shortens cooking time. The
PE> difference in temperature between unsalted and salted water
PE> (one teaspoon of salt per quart of water) is about 1° to 2°
PE> F, a difference that can be critical in cooking situations
PE> demanding exactness.

I haven't got time today to calculate it but either you or
Howard Hillman are way out!

I defy anyone to provide documented evidence that 1 or 2 degrees f make
a meaningful difference in any cooking.

For example, water at 1000 feet altitude boils at about 2 degrees f
lower than at sea level. Has anyone ever seen a recipe that has
different timing for 1000 feet?

No.

--
Peter Aitken

On Jul 11, 4:04 pm, "James Silverton" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Phil wrote on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:01:14 -0500:

PE> Chefs add quite a bit of salt to the water to achieve this.

PE> The food being cooked does not take on a lot of this salt
PE> during the cooking process.
PE> Boiling Points of Water
PE> From the book Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
PE> Salt: Salt, sugar, and practically any other substance
elevates
PE> the boiling point and therefore shortens cooking time. The
PE> difference in temperature between unsalted and salted water
PE> (one teaspoon of salt per quart of water) is about 1° to 2°
PE> F, a difference that can be critical in cooking situations
PE> demanding exactness.

I haven't got time today to calculate it but either you or
Howard Hillman are way out!

I wonder if he's misrembering teaspoons where it should have been
tablespoons. Doing a VERY back of the envelope calculation
(1qt~1L~1kg water, 1tbs table salt~18g~.65mol NaCL, Kb~.5 for water)
would give about a degree Fahrenheit difference. Of course, who cooks
using only a quart of water?

--
Ernest