Do you use salt on your food?

Sofaspud

I mainly only use it on eggs or chips, or if I'm roasting plain chicken or giving a steak a pre-frying rub.

When I cook anything chinese-based I generally use a pinch of MSG (which is slightly healthier than salt, despite its reputation)

B.A._Baracus

Thing is many restaurants use salt when cooking food. Something to think about all you salt haters

Emeraldy Pebbles

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Thing is many restaurants use salt when cooking food.

And lots of it!

admiralofthefleet

Sofaspud wrote: »

I mainly only use it on eggs or chips, or if I'm roasting plain chicken or giving a steak a pre-frying rub.

When I cook anything chinese-based I generally use a pinch of MSG (which is slightly healthier than salt, despite its reputation)

may as well go the whole hog and throw in some aromat for the blood pressure

michellie

Oh I use it a lot and on everything.

af_thefragile

Tears are enough for me...

Sofaspud

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

may as well go the whole hog and throw in some aromat for the blood pressure

Aromat is just basically flavoured MSG but I prefer the pure stuff, gives the food more of a sensation than a flavour.

Rothko

I used to do it the whole time but I've stopped since the beginning of the year. I tend to only use it on takeaways.

pennypocket

It depends on what kind of food you cook and eat. If you eat a lot of processed foods (factory-produced, value-added food) then you really don't need to add salt. For cooking and baking from fresh, salt is vital, if not for some of the chemical processes of baking, but for flavour enhancement also. It's really not the evil it's presented as, especially for home cooking.

starbelgrade

Moldovan sea salt all the way.

cabb8ge

Not very often, most food I put no salt on, I only add salt for taste and very seldom, too many people add salt as habit. Plate on table, salt salt salt put on meal, than pick up knife and fork and commence eating. Taste first, if need for salt add little, it can enhance some flavour, should not provide the falvour or hide it.

pennypocket

Yeah, but you should be tasting all the way through cooking. Fresh ingredients need salt and even what you add during cooking will not be as much as the food manufacturers. In fact, processed bread has one of the highest salt contents of food we consume. About 75 percent of the salt we eat comes from processed food.

Witchie

I am very heavy handed with the salt but find when I dont have enough salt I get light headed due to my low blood pressure.

cabb8ge

pennypocket wrote: »

Yeah, but you should be tasting all the way through cooking. Fresh ingredients need salt and even what you add during cooking will not be as much as the food manufacturers. In fact, processed bread has one of the highest salt contents of food we consume. About 75 percent of the salt we eat comes from processed food.

I agree about processed food, I cook basic meals, vegetable and meat primarily, I not add salt when cooking vegetable, some meat I season with salt and pepper perhaps, tiny salt added to pasta etc etc.
I not eat much processed food.

billybudd

Emeraldy Pebbles wrote: »

And lots of it!

Salt is a natural substance when used properly will do no harm.

The amount of people who pour salt on their food in a restaurant before even tasting it is unbelievable to the point of sending food back because its too ''salty''.:rolleyes:

Emeraldy Pebbles

billybudd wrote: »

Salt is a natural substance when used properly will do no harm.

I know that. I've been fighting salt's corner in this thread!

x_Ellie_x

I don't use salt. In fact I've never really been a fan of of it. I got a lifetime turn off it as a kid. My mam used to put far too much salt over our food, making it inedible most of the time, and I got so sick of it I refused to eat any of her cooking for weeks and used to sneak off to either one of my aunt's, my great-aunt or friend's houses for dinner (Most of my family used to live on the same road when I was a child).

Hersheys

I don't understand the "there's too much salt in processed foods" argument. If you care that much about what goes into your body cook from scratch. Much healthier, tastier and cheaper.

Emeraldy Pebbles

Emeraldy Pebbles wrote: »

See, this I don't get. Soy sauce is a high salt product. So you do put salt on your food.

No, I put soy sauce on food that goes with soy sauce.

I don't sit down with a roast beef dinner and pour soy sauce all over it.

billybudd

Starla_o0 wrote: »

No, I put soy sauce on food that goes with soy sauce.

I don't sit down with a roast beef dinner and pour soy sauce all over it.

Actually cooking the beef in soy sauce is really nice as it glazes it and also cooks the salt content so it evenly spreads throughout the meat and doesnt taste of salt at the end, only nice seasoning.

billybudd

billybudd wrote: »

Actually cooking the beef in soy sauce is really nice as it glazes it and also cooks the salt content so it evenly spreads throughout the meat and doesnt taste of salt at the end, only nice seasoning.

I will try this!

Benny_Cake

I love salt but it drives me mad when I see someone who is eating out pouring it on to the plate before they've even tasted their food. Plenty of dishes contain enough salt as it is, especially if there are processed sauces involved.

billybudd

Benny_Cake wrote: »

I love salt but it drives me mad when I see someone who is eating out pouring it on to the plate before they've even tasted their food. Plenty of dishes contain enough salt as it is, especially if there are processed sauces involved.

Couldnt agree more, although i wouldnt eat in a place that uses processed sauces as a prime example is demi glas from a package, it has a lot of MSG in it and although it is a natural sunstance it causes some terrible side effects like dehydration, headaches, rashes and heart palpatations.

A good reastaurant will get in lamb, beef or pork bones and make their own sauces by making the stock from them and then reducing it, not that much work btw and tastes a whole lot better.

Jimoslimos

starbelgrade wrote: »

Moldovan sea salt all the way.

On that point, a good way to make any food seem more appetising is as follows,

<place name><adjective><food>

M&S marketing 101

Smidge

Jimoslimos wrote: »

No, never. Don't think I even use it in cooking. Live in a place with Chinese students and the amount of salt they use in cooking is disgusting.

Some chef, might have been Gordon Ramsay, said something along the lines of it being an insult that diners would reach immediately for the salt to season their food without even tasting it first. Have to agree.

Funny you should say about the Chinese students in your place and salt.

I was in a local cafe one time having a sambo and there was a Chinese girl sitting across the way from me. She was having a plate of chips(nothing else with it). She moved the chips over on her plate and got the salt and poured what I can only describe as a mini "salt mountain" on the plate.
She then proceeded to RUB the chips in the salt and the eat them:eek:

She must have been leppin with the thirst after it:D

I use lo-salt and would cook most everything from scratch but could not have eggs, chicken or potatoes(with butter too!)without a little sprinkle of salt.

Cavehill Red

Jimoslimos wrote: »

No, never. Don't think I even use it in cooking. Live in a place with Chinese students and the amount of salt they use in cooking is disgusting.

Some chef, might have been Gordon Ramsay, said something along the lines of it being an insult that diners would reach immediately for the salt to season their food without even tasting it first. Have to agree.

There's an urban legend (possibly true) that in previous times, Harvard entrance interviews concluded with a lunch. Unbeknownst to the dining students, they were watched from a distance by an eagle-eyed academic who monitored their condiment use.
Any student who salted their food without first tasting it was automatically rejected.

Smidge

Cavehill Red wrote: »

There's an urban legend (possibly true) that in previous times, Harvard entrance interviews concluded with a lunch. Unbeknownst to the dining students, they were watched from a distance by an eagle-eyed academic who monitored their condiment use.
Any student who salted their food without first tasting it was automatically rejected.

I can't understand how people would salt food before tasting.

Jimoslimos

Smidge wrote: »

I can't understand how people would salt food before tasting.

Habit.
I'm not anti salt, just don't use it. Which is why I wouldn't instinctively reach for salt to season my food.

nocoverart

I just salt me nuts

Cavehill Red

Smidge wrote: »

I can't understand how people would salt food before tasting.

One thing that occurred to me was perhaps - if they did do that at Harvard - it was a sneaky way of keeping Jews out, since they have a very high salt diet according to kosher laws. More likely, it was a test of etiquette though.