Salt is the building block of flavor. Which is funny because salt doesnāt have a flavor. But it does enhance the flavors around it. Salted cucumbers taste fresher. Bitter dark chocolate tastes sweeter with flaky sea salt. Meat has more umami when itās been salted in advance.
So salt makes food taste better. But that doesnāt mean using more salt is always the key to delicious food (though sometimes it is!).
How you use salt is just as important as how much you use.
A smaller amount of salt added early on more thoroughly seasons food than salt added at the end.
Think about pasta. š Heavily salting your pasta water makes it so salt is absorbed while cooking. You get pasta seasoned throughout instead of it being salty on the surface.
Thatās why itās crucial to salt cooking liquids for rice, noodles, or other grains while they cook and not just after. Be warned. Iāve been known to get pretty salty with people if they donāt! š I know, Iām sodium funny. š„
But itās not just grains.
Meat should be salted in advance. When you salt a whole chicken or a pork chop in advance, a magical thing happens. Unlike other seasonings, salt molecules are small enough to actually travel into the meat if given enough timeāusually at least 40 minutes. Itās a mix of osmosis and diffusion that makes it happen! (Check out this past newsletter letter issue to learn more about salting meat in advance.)
A little bit of salt applied the day before will more thoroughly season meat than a bunch of salt added right before cooking. Thatās the beauty of salt within the meat and not just on the surface!
There are different ways to add salt to a dish. And Iām not just talking about sea salt vs kosher salt. š§
This is an important one to remember. Salt comes from more than just the rock. You can season a dish via salty ingredients like:
In fact, Iād say these ātypesā of salt are my preferred way to season food. Why? Well, these salty ingredients bring more to a dish than just salt. Pickled veggies and crispy bacon bring a crunch too. Anchovies and soy sauce bring umami. Salty cheeses also add creaminess.
Season your food with one of these ingredients, youāll be layering salt throughout the dish. So itās important to consider all sources of salt when planning a meal. Speaking of that...
You know dumping a bunch of salt on at the end is not the key to tasty food. So youāre already planning on salting throughout the cooking process and using multiple ātypesā of salt.
But, still. How do you know how much salt to use? Hereās how: (1) taste as you go (2) then think about the dish as a whole.
Letās say youāre making a simple tortilla soup. Youāll start by sauteing some veggies and some chorizo. Youāll then add spices and hardy herbs. And lastly, youāll add your stock and simmer away. Then right before serving youāll garnish it with tortilla chips, cotija cheese, and avocado. Yum!
Now let's talk about your salt plans. Youāll want to add salt to your veggies as they cook. How much? If youāre adding chorizo to the mix, probably not much since itās another source of salt.
After the spices go in and bloom for a bit in the fat, Iād taste the veggies. Then Iād think about the stock. Is it already salted? A lot? If not, Iād want the veggies to be a bit salty at this point.
Then once the soup is done simmering, Iād taste it again. Does it taste bland? Iād add some salt. Well seasoned? Then Iād think about my garnishes for the soup. Tortilla chips and cotija cheese both have salt. So if I realize the soup just needs a touch more salt after tasting it, Iād stop there. My garnishes will bring it home!
My goal with this newsletter isnāt to teach you the ārights and wrongsā of cooking. Cooking is subjective. Because if it tastes delicious to you, then you did it right! No matter how you got there.
But I do want to help you be more thoughtful about how you cook and why you do what you do in the kitchen. Itās something Iāve been working on personally. And itās made me a better cook. But more importantly, itās made cooking more fun! So instead of just following steps in a recipe, use your brain and senses to create something delicious. š§ ššš
Luciano šØāš³
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