Do you salt your food?

[badatmath]

I disagree. That may be the perception of someone whose palate does not have the ability to perceive subtle differences. Our senses of taste and smell do generally diminish with age.


Exactly.


Salt (sodium chloride) is a flavor enhancer, i.e., our flavor receptors perceive it as bringing out the inherent flavors in foods, though I believe the science is still uncertain of the mechanism, and salt may affect other sensations such as bitterness. Monosodium glutamate is often considered the ultimate flavor enhancer. The science is apparently complicated (my Googling reveals to me), but the one thing that seems well established is that a small amount of added salt affects our senses in ways beyond simply making the food taste saltier.

I am a salt addict, but I use it more judiciously since a hypertension diagnosis a few years ago.

Makes no difference for most people (per my cardiologist). But my friend also with high blood pressure is prescribed 4 salt tablets a day to take as well as his meds. He gets too low in sodium somehow.

 

[badatmath]

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

I must be the only person alive who hates popcorn (and butter). . . . I don't ever use butter on anything it just seems so gross to me. Texture I guess.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I’ve been buying unsalted butter and unsalted nuts for decades . I had to stop eating popcorn when I got my implants because they would sometimes get stuck and cause a problem. My oral surgeon told me that popcorn was off-limits after I told him the problems I was having.

 

[target2019]

I developed low sodium.

Bacon dreams.

 

[reneeh63]

I very rarely salt "at the table" at home and never when eating out. When cooking I know enough that baking does require a certain amount of salt else bread tastes very flat, for example. Also some particular foods like potatoes and eggs seem to need a certain amount of salt.

That said, I usually use less than called for because I've grown used to less salt and frequently find processed foods and restaurant foods on the salty side. Luckily, I have no high blood pressure issues so use of salt doesn't worry me, it's just not that necessary for many dishes if other seasonings are used.

Remember back in the day when grandparents put salt on their green salads and watermelon and cantaloupe? People rarely go to that extent anymore or just automatically salt everything they eat without tasting first.

 

[reneeh63]

My DMIL is 70 and has high blood pressure. She adds table salt to almost everything. The other day she added salt to both a McDonald's hamburger and an order of fries.

I cringed. If I eat a McDonald's hamburger, I get very thirsty because they are so salty to begin with. As are their fries.

I guess some people like their food really salty.

I remember as a kid eating those thick smoked ham slices and being so thirsty after dinner!

 

[splitwdw]

Please do not perceive this post as argumentative.

Salt does act as a masking agent. One can call it a flavor enhancer, but if the addition of salt (or any other additive, e.g., garlic) causes the brain to not perceive the original taste profile, that profile has been "masked," hidden or changed. For some, that is a very positive thing (my sister would give up eating if she couldn't have salt), but others see it differently. Perhaps it is a function of individual variability in the number of salt receptors in people's oral cavity.

A couple of articles about the enhancing/masking qualities of salt:

Taste and Flavor Roles of Sodium in Foods: A Unique Challenge to Reducing Sodium Intake - Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States - NCBI Bookshelf

Quick Bite: How salt enhances the flavour of our food

About Quick bites Quick bites are shorter very specific posts that add some extra information that was too much for a regular post but which are worth knowing anyway. They can also highlight some i…

scifood.blog

I read both articles "enhanced" is used many times in both articles. The word "mask" was used once in the NCBI article "salt was found to improve the perception of product thickness, enhance sweetness, mask metallic or chemical off-notes, and round out overall flavor while improving flavor intensity". You have mentioned "mask(ing)" 3 times in this one reply.
Maybe you are sensitive to salt.
I agree with the person that mentions no salt in bread, it's very bland. I make 3 loaves at a time and use a quarter teaspoon for the dough.

 

[audreyh1]

I very rarely salt "at the table" at home and never when eating out. When cooking I know enough that baking does require a certain amount of salt else bread tastes very flat, for example. Also some particular foods like potatoes and eggs seem to need a certain amount of salt.

That said, I usually use less than called for because I've grown used to less salt and frequently find processed foods and restaurant foods on the salty side. Luckily, I have no high blood pressure issues so use of salt doesn't worry me, it's just not that necessary for many dishes if other seasonings are used.

Remember back in the day when grandparents put salt on their green salads and watermelon and cantaloupe? People rarely go to that extent anymore or just automatically salt everything they eat without tasting first.

The salad dressings have salt already, so unless you are only using oil and vinegar you don’t need to salt (or pepper) your salad. Maybe they were using oil and vinegar?

We sprinkled salt on watermelon when I was growing up.

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

I read both articles "enhanced" is used many times in both articles. The word "mask" was used once in the NCBI article "salt was found to improve the perception of product thickness, enhance sweetness, mask metallic or chemical off-notes, and round out overall flavor while improving flavor intensity". You have mentioned "mask(ing)" 3 times in this one reply.
Maybe you are sensitive to salt.
I agree with the person that mentions no salt in bread, it's very bland. I make 3 loaves at a time and use a quarter teaspoon for the dough.

I won't quibble about whether or not I am more perceptive of salt.

I also won't quibble about my use of the term "mask." If a substance alters the flavor of a food, I call that "masking." Others may call it "enhancement." I would use "enhancement" for the effect of chocolate fudge on vanilla ice cream, but in reality, one masks the flavor of the ice cream by adding enhancements.

 

[reneeh63]

The salad dressings have salt already, so unless you are only using oil and vinegar you don’t need to salt (or pepper) your salad. Maybe they were using oil and vinegar?

We sprinkled salt on watermelon when I was growing up.

Well, these were 'old folks' 55 years ago when I was a kid. If they put any 'dressing' on a green salad it was a dab of mayo so it's true there was likely little salt on / in it.

 

[38Chevy454]

Occasionally add small amount of salt when cooking, if not already in something like dry rub or similar. I do add black pepper to a lot of things when cooking or for extra at the table. Never add salt once food is cooked.