Where do you stand on salt?

The Hill Billy · 27-02-2012 2:53pm

[off-topic]

Gillian McKeith (born September 1959)
Gillian+McKeith+h4P1u2RdMdzm.jpg

Nigella Lawson (born January 1960)

Ok, so Gillian is a few months older than Nigella, but you catch my drift...

[/off-topic]

aidan24326 · 27-02-2012 9:01pm

vibe666 wrote: »

as far as i can see, she's only on TV because she makes people poo in a box. i guess people don't have enough s**t on their TV as it is. :pac:

It's dumbed-down tv for the masses. She has no worthwhile credentials, her PhD is worthless, unaccredited, and unrecognised by any proper academic institution, and she's been exposed many times as being utterly clueless about the science of what she claims to be an expert in. We're digressing I know, but it's important that people realise she's a faker and a spoofer. I expect most people on this forum already know that, but obviously alot of people don't or else she wouldn't still be getting tv shows.

rich.d.berry · 28-02-2012 12:31pm

I love salt. I do a fair amount of exercise and perspire copiously when doing so. I find that afterwards I crave salt but don't use excessive quantities. A small packet of crisps tends to calm my craving.

I eat mostly cooked from scratch meals with the occasional frozen pizza or battered fish and chips (once a week or so).

I'm 48, my blood pressure is normal and I have no cholesterol problems. For me, exercise is the key.

On a related topic - I seldom add salt to food once cooked, definitely not without tasting beforehand. I know of a few people who will sprinkle salt on their food without even tasting. Are there others who consider this rude, or is it just me? It's like they're implying that they don't trust my ability to flavour the food properly.

syklops · 28-02-2012 12:39pm

rich.d.berry wrote: »

On a related topic - I seldom add salt to food once cooked, definitely not without tasting beforehand. I know of a few people who will sprinkle salt on their food without even tasting. Are there others who consider this rude, or is it just me? It's like they're implying that they don't trust my ability to flavour the food properly.

+1 to this. As someone who takes pride in his cooking, I think its the height of ignorance.

the beer revolu · 28-02-2012 1:39pm

rich.d.berry wrote: »

On a related topic - I seldom add salt to food once cooked, definitely not without tasting beforehand. I know of a few people who will sprinkle salt on their food without even tasting. Are there others who consider this rude, or is it just me? It's like they're implying that they don't trust my ability to flavour the food properly.

It's not just rude, it's stupid. How do they know if the food is oversalted for their taste already or not. When I see a person do that I automatically loose a little respect for them - whether I've made the food or not.

Ddad · 01-03-2012 11:41am

+1. It might seem rude but I've refused salt to guests in my house because they asked for it before they tasted the food.

"Can I have salt please?"

But you didn't taste the food?

"Yeah I know but I always add salt at home"

Taste it and see if it needs salt.

"It tastes nice, can I have the salt anyway"

:mad:

No, if it tastes nice you don't need it. I spent two hours cooking it to get it to taste nice and you wabt it to taste salty. No

I've had the conversation a few times. Yep. I'm a control freak with food and seasoning. I don't have a light hand with salt either.;)

The Hill Billy · 01-03-2012 3:12pm

Taste is subjective. What tastes 'nice' & adequately seasoned to you - may be bland & under-seasoned to someone else - or indeed overly salty to another person.

If I were not allowed to season the food I had been given to suit my own palate - I would be pretty pee'd off.

Your guest most likely said that it 'tastes nice' when the fact of the matter was that it was bland to their palate, but they did not want to seem to offend (particularly if you are that fussy about the food you serve).

rubadub · 01-03-2012 4:46pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

How do they know if the food is oversalted for their taste already or not.

Past experience I guess. If 99% of the time they ended up adding more salt in the past then some might do it automatically.

If you are concerned about what your guests/customers like then it is safer to add less salt to a dish as it cannot be taken back out, but can always be added. So I would guess the average dish contains less salt than the average person would like.

Ddad wrote: »

"It tastes nice, can I have the salt anyway":mad:

They are hardly going to say "its not nice, can I have salt anyway". They are being polite, and obviously do think it will taste even better to them with more salt.

I don't see the big deal, go to any chipper and you will see people asked "salt & vinegar?" answering, yes please/none/lots/a little bit. I always ask for lots myself, I see a wide variation in peoples taste for salt.

Do any people out there try and guess how sweet people like their tea in advance? its a fairly similar idea.

Ddad · 02-03-2012 11:21am

Fair enough, I see where your coming from.

The point I was making is that a lot of people add salt without tasting their food. They've desensitised their palate to the taste of salt. Indeed, I think a lot of people have lost any sublety they once had in their palates and don't taste an iota unless it's salty as seawater. My mother, father in law and mother in law are all on blood pressure medication and they all add a shed load of salt automatically to anything they eat. I've seen them add salt to rashers!

I put a lot of effort into the food I cook. I work hard at it and I'm good at it. It's insulting to see the food seasoned again at the table before it is tasted. It might seem arrogant but I'm not going to facilitate someone to mess up a dish and thrash their health while their at it.

I have a special interest in salt and salt consumption as I've studied it and written some reports on it for some college courses I did in the past. Salt is potent stuff, particularly when it comes to health and it's abuse and that of processed carbs and fats is one of the major contributors to the ill health of a lot of our older relatives. I'm making a stand for the health of the nation in my own little way;):D

syklops · 02-03-2012 3:19pm

Ddad wrote: »

Fair enough, I see where your coming from.

The point I was making is that a lot of people add salt without tasting their food. They've desensitised their palate to the taste of salt. Indeed, I think a lot of people have lost any sublety they once had in their palates and don't taste an iota unless it's salty as seawater. My mother, father in law and mother in law are all on blood pressure medication and they all add a shed load of salt automatically to anything they eat. I've seen them add salt to rashers!

I put a lot of effort into the food I cook. I work hard at it and I'm good at it. It's insulting to see the food seasoned again at the table before it is tasted. It might seem arrogant but I'm not going to facilitate someone to mess up a dish and thrash their health while their at it.

I have a special interest in salt and salt consumption as I've studied it and written some reports on it for some college courses I did in the past. Salt is potent stuff, particularly when it comes to health and it's abuse and that of processed carbs and fats is one of the major contributors to the ill health of a lot of our older relatives. I'm making a stand for the health of the nation in my own little way;):D

When I first started dating my girlfriend, I would make her something and ask "How is it" and she would say "Its nice but its not salty". As time went on I discovered every single meal I cooked wasnt salty, I realised the problem was hers. I stopped putting salt in things as I knew she would add salt anyway. Overtime I have managed to wean her off it.

the beer revolu · 02-03-2012 5:37pm

rubadub wrote: »

Past experience I guess. If 99% of the time they ended up adding more salt in the past then some might do it automatically.

Well my experience tells me that sometimes I 'need' to add salt to food that I haven't cooked and sometimes it is almost too salty to eat.

I think chips, from a chipper is a special case as you know that salt hasn't gone near the chips and you know if you like salt on chips or not.

I was talking more about people putting salt on prepared food with no idea of how salty it is or otherwise. I have no problem with people putting salt on food that I have prepared as long as they taste it first.

Seomra Mushie · 04-03-2012 6:49pm

syklops wrote: »

Overtime I have managed to wean her off it.

Why? What's wrong with her having a little salt in/on things?

syklops · 05-03-2012 12:03pm

Seomra Mushie wrote: »

Why? What's wrong with her having a little salt in/on things?

There is nothing wrong with having a little salt. There is something wrong with expecting everything she eats should taste salty.

Outkast_IRE · 05-03-2012 12:06pm

only thing i ever add salt to is over chips which i rarely have . Or a small sprinkle into potatoes before mashing which i also rarely have.

The Lovely Muffin · 06-03-2012 10:39pm

I add salt in when I am cooking, and when I serve meals I always put salt on the table and usually add a little (or sometimes a lot) to my own food, for more flavour.

I always find when I add salt to my own finished meals my family stare at me in horror as if to say "what the hell are you doing?", I find it so rude.

artvandelay48 · 03-04-2012 3:45pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why do people use maldon sea salt cooking? surely the flakes'll dissolve and just taste the same as any sea salt or rock salt for that matter?

Exactly. But maldon flakes sprinkled on finished food is amazing. The texture of the salt makes the flavour of your dish pop...

Where do you stand on salt?

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