Trick to Correct Amount of Salt

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mahimabhatia
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Icon Trick to Correct Amount of Salt

Post by mahimabhatia »

Is there a rule of thumb to know how much salt to add?
I always end up adding too much or adding too little.
-Thanks
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Post by P0tt3ry »

They do say "to taste" for a reason. Usually my herbs and/or vinegars go in first. That helps me avoid oversalting.
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Post by NRoach »

Add it little by little right before serving, and keep testing it. Think of salt more as a finishing touch, to bring out the shine, than as a true ingredient.
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Post by nikkyteewhy »

NRoach wrote: 28 Apr 2018, 22:17 Add it little by little right before serving, and keep testing it. Think of salt more as a finishing touch, to bring out the shine, than as a true ingredient.
When it comes to salt, try to add as little as possible especially if you are using cooking cubes too, too much salt is not good for people with hypertension.
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Post by PlanetHauth »

The problem I run into with seasoning foods is that I don't taste as I season, and that's where I (and many others) go wrong. Always taste as you go. For salt, add a couple of teaspoons, then taste the food to see if that was sufficient. If not, add a little more. Like others have noted, be careful of adding salt, especially when using commercially prepared ingredients (like bouillon cubes or stocks/broths) and meals (Hamburger Helper or Kraft Mac and Cheese). These generally have tons of salt already.
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Post by Gmdiamzon 2 »

Salt is always greater than pepper 60% ofsalt and 40% of pepper.
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Post by thaservices1 »

Salting is tricky and is very dependent on taste. Practice makes perfect and even then it's best to under salt and let your eaters adjust the dish themselves. My best advise is taste and adjust through each level of cooking. Say you are making spaghetti sauce, first you add your meat to the pan, you add a pinch of salt since the meat doesn't come salted, then as the meat browns you add your onions and garlic, once it's browned and the onions have gone a bit see through you turn down the heat and deglaze the pan as they say, which is just adding a bit of water to loosen the browned flavoring from the bottom of the pan. Now is the time to taste, if you're adding canned or jar sauce taste it too. If the meat is not salted enough but the sauce is salty then add none, or visa versa. If you've oversalted AND the sauce is salty, now's the time to add a can of plain paste to tone things down, but that's a worst case scenario. If you're making your sauce from scratch it is a bit trickier, if the meat is too salty just go ahead and add your veggies, tomato, peppers etc and no more salt. If the meat is undersalted then add in another pinch with the veggies. Once everything comes to a simmer, taste time again, just keep in mind before you add more salt, that as the sauce simmers more salt from the meat will bleed out into the sauce as it cooks down. And then again after it has simmered to your liking, taste and do your final adjustments. So taste at each juncture in cooking your dish.
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thaservices1
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Post by thaservices1 »

NRoach wrote: 28 Apr 2018, 22:17 Add it little by little right before serving, and keep testing it. Think of salt more as a finishing touch, to bring out the shine, than as a true ingredient.
I can not agree with this. Salt when it is used is one of the most important ingredients in a dish. It can make or break a meal. If you take my above spaghetti walkthrough and salt only at the end you will not get the same results. You would have bland meat in a bland sauce topped with salt, a completely different flavor. Salt actually breaks down food at a molecular level allowing more flavors to come out.
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Post by Bluebird03 »

I tend to use slightly less salt than a recipe calls for- and let the individual add more if needed. Also, I keep "No Salt" on hand for those that want a bit of a salt flavor but are on a low-salt diet.
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Post by Taylor Danvers »

I usually just add a little while tasting until I get the right amount. I don't think there's a secret trick.
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Post by mamilla93 »

I used to have a problem with adding too much salt, so , I always add just a little and adjust it at the end of cooking. Depending on the dish, I either add water or tomatoes if I do add too much salt.
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Post by Netvigator72 »

I have the problem of always messing up the salt amount. I’m a great cook and make wonderful dishes but always need help from my mother to adjust the salt levels.
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Post by Favour Alade Boluwatife »

I don't add salt to my food at once. I do it little by little and I taste. But we're not perfect and in some situations we might make mistake and use excess salt
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Post by Ebara Anoekom »

If the food had too many spices there is no need to add salt as the soil already bas it own salt
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Post by Liza Chulukhadze »

I always try to make it less salty and let anyone who likes it more salty adjust it to their taste.
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