Do you salt your food?

[Out-to-Lunch]

My father used to put salt on bacon.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

My father used to put salt on bacon.

That's as bad as salting McDonald's hamburgers and fries!

 

[rk911]

It is interesting to me that salt is viewed as some sort of inherent or special "flavor enhancer." If one Googles "citrus," "garlic," "rosemary," "chili," etc., and ask if it is a "flavor enhancer," all are noted as such. Yet, people don't generally put these liberally into or onto their food as seems common with salt. Of course, this can be culturally-dependent.

I chuckle at the comment about popcorn tasting like cardboard until one puts salt on it. I get that salty popcorn appeals to some, but I doubt that the salt brings out the umami in pop corn.

For me it's the butter on popcorn...and the salt...but mostly the butter. Yum!

 

[Trailwalker]

Yes. I use a variety of spices and seasonings when I cook and/or eat, including salt.

 

[Jerry1]

I consider my salt intake as moderate. I will add some while cooking and will grind some sea salt at the table if needed. Going out to eat is another matter. Restaurant food is way over salted imho. I noticed this recently when we took granddaughter to Outback (her choice) for a steak. Man was that steak salty. Not very appealing to me.

 

[COcheesehead]

My favorite thing to put salt on is…..

Pizza.


It seems to make it zippier.

 

[big-papa]

Along with a lot of other spices when we're cooking, yes, salt is part of that. But not a lot.
We never salt food after it's cooked, whether it's what we make or what we purchase. I know people that don't even taste the food first and out comes the salt.

Curses on anybody I go out to a Mexican restaurant with who salts the chips without asking anybody else! The response is to push the basket of chips back to them and say "these are yours" then flag the waiter for a new basket.

Cheers.

 

[Dtail]

My father used to put salt on bacon.

Wow, would be like putting salt on pastrami.

 

[TheWizard]

My favorite thing to put salt on is…..

Pizza.


It seems to make it zippier.

Ok. My pizza add-ons are red pepper flakes and sometime a bit of grated cheese.
When I want it zippier, as often I do, I order it with jalapenos or banana peppers added on top...

 

[Just_Steve]

I always salt my tequila.

 

[street]

No!! I use a lot of pepper.

 

[Midpack]

Salt enhances the flavor of most foods, unless you overdo it. I salt as necessary, I’d hope no one salts everything out of habit. I tend to add black pepper more often than salt.

 

[Chuckanut]

Very lightly.

 

[COcheesehead]

Ok. My pizza add-ons are red pepper flakes and sometime a bit of grated cheese.
When I want it zippier, as often I do, I order it with jalapenos or banana peppers added on top...

By zippier, I mean brighter. In wine terms I would say it adds acidity. Like the brightness you get from a citrus juice.

 

[Dash man]

I was taught as a kid it’s an insult to the cook to add salt to food served to you. So it was ingrained in me at a young age to never add salt or anything to food prepared by another person. Yes, I know it is weird.
Now my DW and her entire family reach for the salt shaker before they even taste their food. It took me a while to get used to that.

 

[Mark1]

I haven't picked up a salt shaker in probably 30+ years and I will even cut back on salt in a recipe sometimes if I think the other ingredients are already adding plenty, e.g. chicken broth, etc. I figure I'm still getting at least 10-100 times as much sodium as a traditional Yanomami, so I'm probably getting enough for the body to function properly.

 

[audreyh1]

We eat almost exclusively at home if we are not traveling. We usually season fresh steamed vegetables with salt, pepper and olive oil. Salads have homemade dressing that includes some salt. Otherwise the seasoning occurs during the cooking process. Don't need to season anything at the table, and we don't even have a table salt shaker. I don't remember looking for a salt shaker at a restaurant either, but the food is often heavily seasoned anyway.

 

[badatmath]

Salt IS a food to me. I love it. My mother salted everything when I was a kid so guess I just go used to it.

 

[Dalton]

I've never been a heavy salter (my dad was, so I'm familiar with the concept), but yes, I certainly add salt to food as needed. Back in the days of eating out a lot, I didn't usually need to add salt to that food, but now I eat food that I cook way more often than not, and I add salt.

Salt in food stimulates the taste buds, which enhances those natural flavors of the ingredients. I exercise and sweat a lot, too, and realized a couple years ago that I wasn't getting enough to replenish, so I increased the sodium in my diet, and even add 500 mg sodium to each of my water bottles when I bike (usually 2+ per ride).

 

[JohnnyPHX]

We usually don't add salt to meals at home unless a recipe calls for it.

We get the Kirkland unsalted nuts but find them just a little bland. The last couple of times we also purchased a bag of Kirkland whole Cashews with sea salt. Mixing the two bags together well seems to distribute the sea salt enough to make all the nuts tasty but not too salty, just right IMO.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I stopped using salt 22 years ago.

 

[DrRoy]

The only thing that I add salt to is home fried potatoes while cooking. My most common snack is unsalted dry roasted peanuts. When eating out, I try to ask that no salt be added to the dish, but I don’t always remember. It’s not a strict health issue for me, I just figure that it’s better. Heavily salted food tastes bad to me now.

 

[big-papa]

The only thing that I add salt to is home fried potatoes while cooking. My most common snack is unsalted dry roasted peanuts. When eating out, I try to ask that no salt be added to the dish, but I don’t always remember. It’s not a strict health issue for me, I just figure that it’s better. Heavily salted food tastes bad to me now.

I've had several friends who used to automatically salt everything that showed up on a plate. For one reason or another they ultimately stopped. After a while, their tastes readjusted - like you noted, heavily salted food tastes bad to them now.

Cheers.

 

[wrigley]

There's no salt in my house!

 

[Out of Steam]

I didn't salt my food for a long time, but have started again in recent years.

Until I salted it for the first time, I was rather indifferent towards salmon, but really enjoy it with some salt.