The Effects of Salt on Food

Whenever I interview a perspective cook for my kitchen I always ask one question in particular.  "What is the most important ingredient in the kitchen"?  And when I ask this question I'm looking for one answer - SALT.  Few candidates get the answer right, which is surprising considering this one single ingredient is responsible for making food taste good. 

And, when I teach classes here at In Good Taste, my students often proudly tell me that they use very little salt when they cook at home.  So, when they see me constantly reaching into a bowl of salt and seasoning food, a look of horror comes across their face.  They can't believe how much salt I use when cooking.  Before even tasting the food, they are convinced that it is horribly salty.  But, when they taste how salt enhances the flavors of food, they start to let down their salt guard, which has been built up through years of anti-sodium sentiment.  So, I remind those students who are anti-salt that it is important to understand that the high levels of sodium in our diets come from processed foods and not the salt we add to our home cooking.

Over the next few blogs I am going to talk about salt.  Today I am writing about the chemical reactions that occur when salt is used on foods.  Throughout the next few blogs I will be talking about how to season foods, different types of salts and their uses and how to use salt for brining and curing. 

So, how does salt effect food? 

1. Brings out the flavor of food - Salt opens up the taste buds on the tongue, allowing more of the flavor compounds from the food to reach the cellular receptors on the tongue.  No other compound on earth creates this chemical reaction.  This is why I say salt is the most important ingredient in the kitchen.
2. Mellows bitter flavors in food - Salt helps to limit or decrease the bitter flavors in food.  This is why I soak radicchio in salt water before using it in salads.  Scientist have yet to pin point exactly how salt suppresses bitter flavors, but it works.  And, if you don't believe me try adding a pinch of salt to a glass of tonic water.  The bitterness of the quinine is effectively eliminated, making the tonic taste like sugar water.
3. Salt draws moisture out of food - Before the days of refrigeration, salt was used to cure foods, making them shelf stable for long term storage.  Through osmosis salt draws moisture from the cells of food.  Sometimes this can be a desirable process, such as curing meats like bacon, smoked salmon and prosciutto.  When salt draws moisture out of food it reduces the overall amount of water content.  And because bacteria needs water to grow and multiply, reducing water slows down the spread of bacteria.  The process of salt drawing out water is known as osmosis.  But, what is important to remember is that foods can undergo reverse osmosis and draw liquids back in creating a liquid balance known as homeostasis, which we will discuss later.

So, with a better understanding of how salt affects food, next week we will talk about seasoning techniques and how to use salt when cooking.