Using salt

garlichead

garlichead

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Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
[Mod.edit: this post and following few moved to form new topic (MG)]

JAS_OH1 said:
I personally would not flake the snapper. And where's the salt? No salt in the dish anywhere.
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It's one of my pet peeves, either not enough or no salt at all. It seems that in the last decade young chefs (generally 25 and under) have been under the impression that salt is somehow very bad for you and should be eliminated from the diet and that their doing their diners a favor.
 
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garlichead said:
It's one of my pet peeves, either not enough or no salt at all. It seems that in the last decade young chefs (generally 25 and under) have been under the impression that salt is somehow very bad for you and should be eliminated from the diet and that their doing their diners a favor.
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They are correct. Too much salt is bad for the human body. First, it is necessary for various functionality, but too much retains excesses in water and causes bloating. It also unbalances the nervous system, causing primarily head aches, but also, longer term nerve issues. High blood pressure is one of the more immediate issues. Too much salt increases thirst and actually increases a desire for even more salt. Too much salt increases stomach acidity and the possibility of stomach ulcers.

Why use salt?

1) It lends itself to food preservation. That is why we get too much salt already. Food producers use it frequently for food preservation.
2) It appears to help cook things like pasta and rice, but is unnecessary. What it really does is lower the boiling point of the water, but water does not need to boil to cook pasta and rice.
3) It is necessary in proper amounts to form stomach acid and balance the nervous system.
4) To a degree, it is a flavor agent in food, but is often abused.
 
garlichead said:
It's one of my pet peeves, either not enough or no salt at all. It seems that in the last decade young chefs (generally 25 and under) have been under the impression that salt is somehow very bad for you and should be eliminated from the diet and that their doing their diners a favor.
Click to expand...

It is my observation that chefs use way too much salt. Maybe it is a regional thing. I watch the TV and YouTube chefs and they add salt about five times during a cook. Since I am on a very strict low sodium diet, a meal with 1,500mg of sodium is almost a whole day's allowance for me. If I have too much salt, the consequences are unpleasant. My legs, feet, ankles and belly bloat up like water balloons.

CD
 
garlichead said:
It's one of my pet peeves, either not enough or no salt at all. It seems that in the last decade young chefs (generally 25 and under) have been under the impression that salt is somehow very bad for you and should be eliminated from the diet and that their doing their diners a favor.
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I absolutely agree. Food has to have salt, but that´s my opinion. Tasteless without it, unless, of course, you´ve accustomed your tastebuds to do without.
The FDA says that the body needs a small amount of sodium, but that most salt intake is a result of prepared, packaged foods, rather than what you prepare at home.
Home cooks rule!:happy::happy:
 
caseydog said:
It is my observation that chefs use way too much salt. Maybe it is a regional thing. I watch the TV and YouTube chefs and they add salt about five times during a cook. Since I am on a very strict low sodium diet, a meal with 1,500mg of sodium is almost a whole day's allowance for me. If I have too much salt, the consequences are unpleasant. My legs, feet, ankles and belly bloat up like water balloons.

CD
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Some people, and very few it turns out are naturally sensitive to salt and it effect them as you describe. 1500mg of salt is 3/4 tsp. If I prepared 3 meals for consumption I would never get anywhere near 1500mg's of salt, and it would probably be closer to 200 to 300mg.
 
garlichead said:
Some people, and very few it turns out are naturally sensitive to salt and it effect them as you describe. 1500mg of salt is 3/4 tsp. If I prepared 3 meals for consumption I would never get anywhere near 1500mg's of salt, and it would probably be closer to 200 to 300mg.
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My body doesn't eliminate sodium efficiently, so I can retain water easily.

The salting practices of chef's must be regional, and of course, Southern foods tend to push a lot of boudaries. I'm sure salt is one of them.

CD
 
caseydog said:
My body doesn't eliminate sodium efficiently, so I can retain water easily.

The salting practices of chef's must be regional, and of course, Southern foods tend to push a lot of boudaries. I'm sure salt is one of them.

CD
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Some chefs are heavy handed for sure, but personally I've not found that in general, and actually the opposite and why I originally commented that many don't use any.

Here's my litmus test in general: if I can taste salt, then there's too much.
 
flyinglentris said:
They are correct. Too much salt is bad for the human body. First, it is necessary for various functionality, but too much retains excesses in water and causes bloating. It also unbalances the nervous system, causing primarily head aches, but also, longer term nerve issues. High blood pressure is one of the more immediate issues. Too much salt increases thirst and actually increases a desire for even more salt. Too much salt increases stomach acidity and the possibility of stomach ulcers.

Why use salt?

1) It lends itself to food preservation. That is why we get too much salt already. Food producers use it frequently for food preservation.
2) It appears to help cook things like pasta and rice, but is unnecessary. What it really does is lower the boiling point of the water, but water does not need to boil to cook pasta and rice.
3) It is necessary in proper amounts to form stomach acid and balance the nervous system.
4) To a degree, it is a flavor agent in food, but is often abused.
Click to expand...
Too much of anything can cause complications, it's called context and dosage. Not using any is probably too much cool-aid. imo
 
garlichead said:
Too much of anything can cause complications, it's called context and dosage. Not using any is probably too much cool-aid. imo
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Moderation is the key to everything. I use a minimal amount of salt, but it enhances flavor--to me. I am lucky in that I have never had any problems with salt, but I don't eat a lot of processed foods, so my kidneys are healthy and my body can handle a little sodium. I also sweat when I exercise. I know for a fact that a proper balance of electrolytes is crucial and if I am sweating out salt, I need to replace it.

To each their own, I suppose.

Additionally, the quality of salt is important. I only use sea salt, pink Himalayan, or other good quality salt. That stuff in the canister is garbage and not good for you.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Moderation is the key to everything. I use a minimal amount of salt, but it enhances flavor--to me. I am lucky in that I have never had any problems with salt, but I don't eat a lot of processed foods, so my kidneys are healthy and my body can handle a little sodium. I also sweat when I exercise. I know for a fact that a proper balance of electrolytes is crucial and if I am sweating out salt, I need to replace it.

To each their own, I suppose.

Additionally, the quality of salt is important. I only use sea salt, pink Himalayan, or other good quality salt. That stuff in the canister is garbage and not good for you.
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Salt is one of the cornerstones of taste, along with sweet, sour and bitter and is essential of any good cook to understand these well.
I'll say this again but there is no single nutrient other than trans fats that are unhealthy for us and salt is also one of the nutrients that is essential. It's a diet high in processed foods that increases our salt intake and Americans for example consume about 2/3 of their total calories by eating highly processed foods not only high in sodium, but sugar/carbs and fat as well. Canada, the UK and many others aren't too fat behind. Of course there other nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and calcium in tandem with our kidneys, yeah got to love our kidneys in helping us cope with excessive salt intakes.

Yeah for sure, stay away from table salt, I agree. Use a grinder and grind away and of course no true cook could ever do without the myriad of sea salts available with all their distinct attributes, so go flake off some NaCI. :)
 
The average daily temperature here is about 25°C - that´s about 77°F, and in the shade. In the sun, that goes up to 35°C or more, and it´s tropical, so the sun is closer to the earth. 5 minutes standing in the sun and you perspire.
There are days ( like yesterday) when I just HAVE to eat something salty. I´d been raking cut grass in the garden all morning, and by lunchtime the temperature was29°C. Peanut butter, sea salt and saltines. An NaCl fix.
Commercial salt here has additives - iodine and fluor. I suppose there must be a reason, but I avoid it like the plague (because it tastes funny) and use sea salt. I also season gradually while cooking rather than dump in a whole load of salt to begin with. It´s easy to increase the amount but very difficult to get rid of it.
 
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