Salt.

[broads]

In the beginning of this year I didn't have a proper kitchen for a while ie for about 3 months as we were re doing ours. I used our microwave and a steamer for most of our meals as I did not have a hob or an oven. I am not quite sure why but I did not use extra salt during the cooking process, I would normally put a little bit in a pan of boiled potatoes, veg or a joint in the oven. I now find buying smoked salmon, some cheeses, smoked mackerel etc VERY uneatable, salty. I cook all our meals from fresh produce and have done for years. I am now finding the salt aspect with salmon and cooked meats quite worrying . As I tend to follow a lowish carb diet, I eat a lot of salad and enjoy a bit of meat or fish with it. I love smoked salmon, mackeral. so why does it all suddenly appear so unbearablly salty?!!!

Is it just me?

 

[cugila]

The reason that it all tastes salty is because you got used to doing without salt....the stuff we really eat too much of anyway. I found the same when I stopped using salt in cooking some years ago.

Anything now that has a hint of salt tastes awful. Best thing is to buy fresh Salmon, fresh fish and avoid the salted cheeses and other products. It is better for you and there are always alternatives.
Always check the salt/sodium content of any foods you buy.

Ken.

 

[brill]

Yes - I have the same "problem", having cut salt right out of my home cooking for about a year. Now when we go out for a meal in a restaurant, I often find it unbearably salty. Seems to be a problem with Italian food especially (or maybe just our local restaurants).
Funny though, I still happily pig out on salted nuts if I'm not careful..... :?

 

[adm]

Salt is not all bad though.....your typical bleached and processed Saxa type table salt is almost poison though - and tastes like c**p though.

However - good sea salt adds a huge depth of flavour and may trace minerals too if used SPARINGLY - but the good thing about it is that sparingly is best....

My favourite is Sel de Guerande. It's a large crystal (cuboid) French seal salt. It's grey in colour, moist and tastes divine. If you like food, try some of this. Seriously - you'll never use "table" salt again. I'd rather go without....

 

[cugila]

Salt is salt, wherever it comes from.

It might have other minerals etc in it but it is still pure salt/sodium. If you are trying to keep your blood pressure down then salt/sodium intake is something to be avoided. We get virtually all the salt we need from our diet and most people shouldn't add more to foods especially if they are nearing the maximum recommended daily allowance of 6g.

We had a big discussion about this some while ago here, I can't find it at the moment. If I can I will post the link here.

edited: Here is just one of the many discussions we have had regarding salt:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12874&start=0&hilit=salt

Ken

 

[Synonym]

As an inveterate people watcher I notice that so many people add salt to their meal at the table without even tasting it. :roll: Watch what happens next time you go out to a restaurant!

My husband took over cooking when I was ill and put salt to HIS taste in everything until I decided that I couldn't eat it anymore. The lengths to which one has to go!! :roll: :shock: Fortunately it worked and he doesn't put it in anymore! 8) He just ladles it on to his plate afterwards! :evil: :shock:

 

[noblehead]

In the beginning of this year I didn't have a proper kitchen for a while ie for about 3 months as we were re doing ours. I used our microwave and a steamer for most of our meals as I did not have a hob or an oven. I am not quite sure why but I did not use extra salt during the cooking process, I would normally put a little bit in a pan of boiled potatoes, veg or a joint in the oven. I now find buying smoked salmon, some cheeses, smoked mackerel etc VERY uneatable, salty. I cook all our meals from fresh produce and have done for years. I am now finding the salt aspect with salmon and cooked meats quite worrying . As I tend to follow a lowish carb diet, I eat a lot of salad and enjoy a bit of meat or fish with it. I love smoked salmon, mackeral. so why does it all suddenly appear so unbearablly salty?!!!

Is it just me?

Broads,

Your not alone, I don't use salt either and haven't done for the last 20 years. I enjoy the taste of food on its own, and agree that when eating out that salt does impair the flavour of the food. Unfortunately most restaurants cook with salt, I find that Indian restaurants and takeaways are the most saltier, sometimes making the food unbearable to eat.

My wife watches just about every cooking program on the tv, and she often comments on the amount of salt they use in their cooking, one of my favourite tv chef is Rick Stein, his passion for food is marvelous and he seems such a decent fellow, but the salt he adds to his food is unbelievable!

I love smoked mackerel too, always eat this twice a week, and agree it is a little salty, but I find that some brands are more salty than others, Aldi's pre-packed smoked mackerel is very nice and not too salty, and good value at £1.41 for 2 pieces.

Nigel

 

[adm]

Salt is salt, wherever it comes from.

It might have other minerals etc in it but it is still pure salt/sodium.

Well that's somewhat of an oxymoron.

Mind you, I don't advocate that anybody eats more salt than is already in their food.

We get virtually all the salt we need from our diet and most people shouldn't add more to foods especially if they are nearing the maximum recommended daily allowance of 6g.

I guess that all depends on your diet. And 6g of salt is quite a lot. I doubt I use more than a gramme a day as a food additive. Probably less - and I never cook with salt and also do my best to avoid foods with added salt (apart from bacon and cheese). As you say though - we do need SOME salt, and my only opinion here is that it's better to ingest a better quality salt than your bog standard refined and bleached Saxo.

Sel de Guerande is the finest salt in the world in my opinion - so for those occasions when you want some, surely it's better to use that than to use "table salt".

And I agree - most people use way, way too much salt in their cooking and on their food.

 

[cugila]

Salt is salt, wherever it comes from.

It might have other minerals etc in it but it is still pure salt/sodium.

Well that's somewhat of an oxymoron.

Actually it isn't an oxymoron, it's just a plain and simple incontrovertible fact.
Salt as I said is salt however it is dressed up with fancy names, designer labels, health benefits. It doesn't change what it is.

Now, an oxymoron is a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side, for example.......Healthy Salt........now that's a good one.

Other good examples of an oxymoron are the expressions such as:
"act naturally," "original copy," "found missing," "alone together," "peace force," "definite possibility," "terribly pleased," "real phoney," "ill health," "alone together," "loose tights,"
"small crowd," and last but not least "clearly misunderstood" :wink:


Sel de Guerande is the finest salt in the world in my opinion - so for those occasions when you want some, surely it's better to use that than to use "table salt".
Actually as someone who had a triple bypass in 2004 and is on blood pressure medication I frankly wouldn't touch any additional salt, I need to look after my heart, my blood pressure. As you say, too much salt is bad for you. I totally agree. I don't use any salt in cooking or at the table. You get the real flavour of foods, the real benefit of not putting something into you which is just not needed if you have a good balanced and varied diet. Just don't think that so called 'fine gourmet salt' is any better for you. It isn't. Plain and simple.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi adm,
As you have now been put on blood pressure lowering meds and have been hospitalised for heart problems, it would seem to me that you need to leave additional salt alone. Try using herbs in your cooking if you feel you need more flavour.

Catherine.

 

[Patch]

If anyone is interested - there are a few threads on this very forum where I discuss my use of salt. In my own exerience, I have found that the right type of salt (Celtic/Himalayan/Grey Sea Salt), combined with drinking lots of water, has NO NEGATIVE effect on my health. (Diabetics should drink lots of water anyway...)

If you're interested, do a search - but I'm not going to have the same argument over and over again with the anti-salt gang.

P.S - the type of salt I'd never touch is Table Salt. This is awful stuff. The producers have to adD Iodine to it to stop it being poisonous to humans... Don't touch it with a barge pole.

 

[phoenix]

The producers have to adD Iodine to it to stop it being poisonous to humans... Don't touch it with a barge pole

Sorry that is not true. Iodine was first added to salt to prevent hypothyroidism. Some areas have very little natural iodine in the soil/diet. For example In parts of Switzerland there wer huge numbers of people with hypothyroid from birth causing stunted growth and cognitive impairment.In the U.S., the area around the Great Lakes used to be known as the goitre belt, however, the use of iodised salt almost completely wiped out iodine deficiencies in the U.S. It was similar in other parts of the word... and though rarer in the UK there are areas where goitre was once common.(Derbyshire)
In the UK , less iodine is permitted to be added than elsewhere (because there is for the most part less need) tests in 2008 found that only 4/36 samples of salt contained enough iodine to be of significance. Sea salt often contains only miniscule amounts of iodine.