Where do you stand on salt?

The Black Oil · 08-02-2012 11:18pm #1

So, there seems to be a big salt is bad slant out there these days. I don't really use it much at all, tbh. That is in part because I've bought into the notion that it's bad, bad, bad! I don't use it to supplement dinner and hardly use it in anything else, baking a little, yeah. But really, I get the feeling that it's only bad if you go a bit mad, eating a lot of processed stuff and 3-4 takeaways a week, which I don't, not close.

Thoughts?

diceyreilly · 08-02-2012 11:20pm

Never add it to anything it's in almost everything as it is.

El_Dangeroso · 08-02-2012 11:35pm

If you cook all of your own food from scratch and add salt as liberally as you wish then you will take in far less salt than the average person.

The leading source of sodium in Irish diets is not rashers, crisps or takeaways but bread which actually contains a shocking amount of salt that is barely detectable by taste.

Then again the evidence against salt itself is contradictory. Most of the evidence does confirm an association between high sodium consumption and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The evidence for lowering sodium is actually much weaker. This is probably because that people who choose to eat a lot of salt on average take better care of their health than those who choose to eat more.

There is also a 'J-shaped curve' whereby low salt intake is associated with increased risk of stroke as well as too much.

If I had high blood pressure I'd lower salt intake to a moderate level (and certainly not lower than 4g a day) via cutting out processed food such as the obvious suspects and non-homemade bread. And doing that probably won't be too bad for your health if you did that with normal blood pressure either.

brick tamland · 08-02-2012 11:37pm

Always season fresh food I cook, makes a big difference flavour wise for me. I dont eat much processed food at all, I figure a bit of salt in cooking will do me very little harm compared to eating lots of processed salty food.

Faith · 09-02-2012 12:19am

I actually had an argument with a guy in work about this today. He regularly boasts that he refuses to use salt in his cooking and won't season his food, and in the next breath today, mentioned that he ate two bags of crisps at lunch. I told him he'd be far better off seasoning his food for taste and staying away from crisps and processed foods and he just told me to piss off, basically.

If you're using fresh ingredients, then use salt for flavour freely. If you're eating processed foods, you're already taking in too much salt more than likely, and not using it to season cooking is both useless and doing the home-cooked food a disservice IMO.

Seomra Mushie · 09-02-2012 12:22am

I like adding it to cooking and can be fairly generous depending on what the dish is. I find it enhances flavour. Obviously there is such a thing as too salty. Like I made two portions of chick+veg soup a while back with one full stock cube. It was way too salty, so I worked out the salt content of the cube. 5 GRAMS! :eek: 2.5g per portion. THAT was too much but I would consider half that amount per portion to be perfect for soup, especially noodle soup.

Oh, and I unashamedly add to a little to most finished meals at the table. And eggs + lots of salt is just right.

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

There is also a 'J-shaped curve' whereby low salt intake is associated with increased risk of stroke as well as too much.

That makes sense. A certain amount of salt is required in the human diet, or else the electrolyte balance of the body is messed with.

mike65 · 09-02-2012 12:23am

I don't add any.

syklops · 09-02-2012 12:43am

Faith wrote: »

and not using it to season cooking is both useless and doing the home-cooked food a disservice IMO.

There is a myriad of interesting flavours out there, why would you rely solely on salt, and why would you think cooking without it to do the food a disservice????

When I first started dating and cooking for my girlfriend, I would say, "how is it" when I served it to her, and she would say "fine but it isnt salty", and she would then add lashings of salt to it, even when I had put salt in it. Thankfully over the years I have weaned her off it, and now rarely put salt in anything, and neither does she.

To be honest the only thing I add salt too is steak, and then it is only sea salt.

I discovered where her penchant for salt came from. Everytime her mother came to stay she brought a bag of salt with her, because it seems, at home, they add it to every thing. I now have 3 full jars of salt in my cupboards(can you tell how many times her Mother has visited?).

I love salty butter, and I aspire to making salt baked fish which apparently is not salty to taste but no, I dont use it much.

As for the salt is only mad, if you go mad on it idea, adding a teaspoon of salt to a stew, which 2-4 people might eat would be fine. However, its not too uncommon to see people add about the same amount to their own plate, often without tasting it first. One teaspoon of salt among 2or even 4 people is probably fine, but I would imagine, a teaspoon to yourself with every meal to be a different story.

And eggs + lots of salt is just right.

Your doing it wrong.

Seomra Mushie · 09-02-2012 12:53am

syklops wrote: »

Your doing it wrong.

My what is doing it wrong? Salt is a flavour enhancer rather than masker if used correctly. Adding it to egg yolk makes the yolk taste more yolky not salty.

This is true of lots of foods where salt brings out the natural flavour of the food more.

The Sweeper · 09-02-2012 12:56am

For a long time I didn't use salt in my cooking at all. I got used to not having it, and didn't realise how bland the food was becoming. After moving in with someone who used to add salt at the table I started to taste during cooking both with and without salt, and now I season during cooking with a good quality sea salt.

The only time table salt makes an appearance is when eating a floury roast potato.

I always taste before seasoning though - stock cubes are the DEVIL for adding salt to food. I often find I don't need to season with extra salt at all if I'm adding a store-bought stock.

The Black Oil · 09-02-2012 12:57am

Bread - white more so than (wholemeal) brown or all shop bought bread? I try to stick to home made most of the time, generally avoid white.

syklops · 09-02-2012 1:03am

Seomra Mushie wrote: »

My what is doing it wrong? Salt is a flavour enhancer rather than masker if used correctly. Adding it to egg yolk makes the yolk taste more yolky not salty.

This is true of lots of foods where salt brings out the natural flavour of the food more.

To be honest this is a bit of a silly argument because we are talking about taste via the Internet. Taste is a personal thing, and to be honest, me saying you are doing it wrong, was wrong, because you should do whatever you want to make it taste good for you.

While I take on board your comment that salt is a taste enhancer, I personally think that free range eggs, a few days old, not fresh from the chicken should be yolky enough without the need for additives.

Faith · 09-02-2012 1:06am

syklops wrote: »

There is a myriad of interesting flavours out there, why would you rely solely on salt, and why would you think cooking without it to do the food a disservice????

Salt is a flavour enhancer - it brings out the flavours of the foods. If it tastes "salty", you've added too much salt and masked the flavours. Using it appropriately in cooking should bring out the best of all the flavours.

syklops · 09-02-2012 1:53am

Salt is a flavour enhancer - it brings out the flavours of the foods. If it tastes "salty", you've added too much salt and masked the flavours. Using it appropriately in cooking should bring out the best of all the flavours.

Read my last comment.

Little Alex · 09-02-2012 2:53am

The Sweeper wrote: »

I always taste before seasoning though - stock cubes are the DEVIL for adding salt to food. I often find I don't need to season with extra salt at all if I'm adding a store-bought stock.

I'm pretty much in agreement, but I couldn't imagine food without salt. It really does enhance the flavour, in the same way as a judicious sprinkle of sugar can do wonders for a savoury dish.

Stock cubes are horrendous, no two ways about it. However, the Knorr gel things are not too bad in an emergency.

These days I only use Maldon salt (a mix of the standard and smoked) and find it really good.

Seomra Mushie · 09-02-2012 7:37am

Little Alex wrote: »

Stock cubes are horrendous, no two ways about it. However, the Knorr gel things are not too bad in an emergency

The gel ones contain just as much salt as regular stock cubes, I worked it out once.

ootbitb · 09-02-2012 8:00am

your body thinks salt is poisonous.

take a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and you throw up.

trust your body.

henryporter · 09-02-2012 8:15am

I used to be the opposite of most posters - I never used salt but not use a moderate amount in cooking as it does help to bring out the flavours in some foods.

I'd be more concerned about sugar in a diet than salt.

Tom Dunne · 09-02-2012 9:34am

When people come to visit myself and the Mrs. we actually have to go out and buy salt and sugar, that's how bad we are.

Both of us are doing a lot more cooking over the past year or two, but we would never add salt. But I recently attended a cookery course where the chef (your stereotypical French chef with over 30 years experience) made similar points to those in this thread - it is not salt itself that is the problem, it is the processed foods containing high salt content that are. So his line was that salt is in fact needed when cooking to bring out the flavours.

kylith · 09-02-2012 11:14am

The only things I automatically put salt in are pasta and stew. I usually use soy sauce when I'm cooking meat and I think that that's quite salty enough. Lately I've been finding that a lot of things, those 'put chicken in bag, put in flavouring powder, shake and roast' things especially, are horrifically salty, as are most processed things.

secman · 09-02-2012 11:23am

Depends where I throw it1:D

Secman

Seomra Mushie · 09-02-2012 11:28am

henryporter wrote: »

I'd be more concerned about sugar in a diet than salt.

+ 1,000,000

That said, I'm not afraid to use a wee bit of sugar in cooking either.

Pigwidgeon · 09-02-2012 11:29am

I'd put salt in pretty much everything I make from fresh at home, as others have said it enhances the flavours. If you can taste it you've put too much in.

I rarely seasoned anything with salt and pepper before I started college and working and it was drilled into me to season everything and I've gotten into the habit of doing it at this stage, I also find that since learning to season food properly my food tastes a hell of a lot better.

Faith · 09-02-2012 11:31am

ootbitb wrote: »

your body thinks salt is poisonous.

take a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and you throw up.

trust your body.

Absolute nonsense. Your stomach thinks salt water is manky, and spews it back out. Your body loves a bit of salt and, in fact, can't survive without salt. An average adult needs about 2 grams of sodium daily for cellular functioning. Without that salt, the balance inside and outside of your cells would be disrupted, interfering with the most basic of bodily functions. That's why you hear of people dying when they drink a huge excess amount of water every day over a period of time.

That being said, most of the salt that your body needs is provided naturally in many non-processed foods. A small amount for seasoning food is perfectly fine on top of that. It's when you start eating processed foods, or over-seasoning food (think crisps and chips) that you're in a problem area.

Beruthiel · 09-02-2012 11:34am

I cook from scratch and would find the food terribly bland without a pinch of salt. IMO it is a must for enhancing flavours.

MrO · 09-02-2012 11:35am

This is myopic at best - the body needs salt

ootbitb wrote: »

your body thinks salt is poisonous.

take a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and you throw up.

trust your body.

trackguy · 09-02-2012 11:55am

ootbitb wrote: »

your body thinks salt is poisonous.

take a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and you throw up.

trust your body.

I'm sorry but that's simplistic tripe. This is a cooking forum.

Salt is arguably the most important ingredient a good has and a skilful cook will use it in the right quantities.

Appropriately seasoned fresh food does not contain lethal doses of salt or anything like it.

Ddad · 09-02-2012 11:58am

I show friends how to cook from time to time and they always react with horror when they see the ammount of salt that I add to food. So one day I got sick of it and I ordered a very accurate electronic scales over the net. So when I'd season the food a pinch would go on the scales too. So for a typical ragu or stew for six I'd have added 3 grams, with rice a gram more, with potatoes nothing. Enough in the stew to season the spuds.

After that I'd line up a few slices of bread and tell them that there was more salt in the 5 slices of bread than in the meal for six. Add butter ham cheese and some relish and your in salt city. The reaction is always one of disbelief until you break it down. My mother in law uses low salt for health reasons and because it tastes of feck all uses buckets. She always gives out to me about the ammount of salt I use in cooking but eats Bisto; aka salty water with every meal. :rolleyes:

What I've found myself over the years is the more garlic, herbs and fresh good quality ingredients I use in the cooking the neccesity to season decreases.

Honey-ec · 09-02-2012 12:27pm

I season while cooking with Maldon salt, when needed. Certain things don't require any salt - e.g. risotto, because the parmesan (and butter) is already so salty. I don't put salt on the table when serving, but if someone asks for it (after they've tasted!), they're welcome to it.

I generally make my own stocks, and don't salt them, but if I've to use a stock cube, I just reduce/eliminate the salt I'm adding. It's not rocket science.

neuro-praxis · 09-02-2012 1:44pm

I actually hate when I am eating at a friend's place and they don't season the food in cooking, for fear of salt. My mother was the very same. If you don't use salt in cooking, the food ends up pretty tasteless.

I always salt my food while preparing it (at the table, the only things that get salted might be a baked potato or a boiled egg). I have a reputation amongst my friends for being a good cook of simple food and I swear to you: it is because I know how to season food and nothing more.

I don't eat processed food at the dinner table, I just don't like it (however crisps have a power of their own over me...).

rubadub · 09-02-2012 2:36pm

ootbitb wrote: »

your body thinks salt is poisonous.

take a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and you throw up.

trust your body.

Take the salt out of water, e.g. distilled water, and it tastes manky.

A tablespoon of many ingredients/spices in water might make you throw up.

1g of sodium is 2.5g of salt

100g of pat the baker white bread shows 0.5g sodium on tesco which is 1.25g of salt. 3 slices is 114g

Where do you stand on salt?

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