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A lot of people are used to the extra salt in cheap food. If restaurant food isn't salty enough, they will complain. Chefs are just adjusting to what their most

by Moru 2y ago

A lot of people are used to the extra salt in cheap food. If restaurant food isn't salty enough, they will complain. Chefs are just adjusting to what their most vocal customers complain about. My co-workers are from the whole spectrum. We can sit at a dinner with identical dishes. Me and one more has troubles eating because it's so insanely salty. A couple think it's a bit over salted but very good. One is adding more salt. How are you to please everyone? I prefer to add salt myself.

kergonath 2y ago
> Chefs are just adjusting to what their most vocal customers complain about. I’d rather the chef use the least amount required for proper cooking and leave it to me if I want more (some things absolutely need salt to cook properly, and in general it’s better to have some). It’s easier to add more than remove any excess. > I prefer to add salt myself Exactly. On the other hand I might not be enough of an arsehole because I would never complain about something I could fix so trivially myself.
- Moru 2y ago
  There are things that needs to be salted while cooking but bare minimum yes.
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  proper cooking is not really objective though, and the moment you have anything involving brining, marinading etc. the salt level is kind of out of your hands. the two strategies to adjust this i've seen, are either * a sauce boat for sauced dishes, since the sauce is the thing that contains more or less sodium and is controllable * more so in Asian restaurants, but you can order sides of unseasoned carbs (e.g. rice) to balance it out
  - kergonath 2y ago
    > proper cooking is not really objective though, and the moment you have anything involving brining, marinading etc. the salt level is kind of out of your hands. Some things just need salt otherwise the result is very different from what is expected (things like pasta and bread, for example, similarly salt is important for some vegetables). Same thing for brined food, it is unreasonable to expect that to be unsalted. We just don’t have to be dogmatic about it. > the two strategies to adjust this i've seen, are either For European food, the easiest is just to put a salt pot on the table (and pepper, while we’re at it). It’s important to be able to adjust sauce and salt independently.
bobthepanda 2y ago
the Dorito effect: https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9070255/dorito-effect https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9070255/dorito-effect
- teabee 2y ago
  Thanks for sharing this - it was a great read
retSava 2y ago
It's easier to add salt, than to remove it, so I'm always in favor of this strategy. Less salt is one of those things that are good for you and only takes some getting used to. I can't eat any fast food burgers nowadays, they are just too salty.

by Moru 2y ago

kergonath 2y ago

> Chefs are just adjusting to what their most vocal customers complain about. I’d rather the chef use the least amount required for proper cooking and leave it to me if I want more (some things absolutely need salt to cook properly, and in general it’s better to have some). It’s easier to add more than remove any excess. > I prefer to add salt myself Exactly. On the other hand I might not be enough of an arsehole because I would never complain about something I could fix so trivially myself.

Moru 2y ago
There are things that needs to be salted while cooking but bare minimum yes.
bobthepanda 2y ago
proper cooking is not really objective though, and the moment you have anything involving brining, marinading etc. the salt level is kind of out of your hands. the two strategies to adjust this i've seen, are either * a sauce boat for sauced dishes, since the sauce is the thing that contains more or less sodium and is controllable * more so in Asian restaurants, but you can order sides of unseasoned carbs (e.g. rice) to balance it out
- kergonath 2y ago
  > proper cooking is not really objective though, and the moment you have anything involving brining, marinading etc. the salt level is kind of out of your hands. Some things just need salt otherwise the result is very different from what is expected (things like pasta and bread, for example, similarly salt is important for some vegetables). Same thing for brined food, it is unreasonable to expect that to be unsalted. We just don’t have to be dogmatic about it. > the two strategies to adjust this i've seen, are either For European food, the easiest is just to put a salt pot on the table (and pepper, while we’re at it). It’s important to be able to adjust sauce and salt independently.

bobthepanda 2y ago

the Dorito effect: https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9070255/dorito-effect https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9070255/dorito-effect

teabee 2y ago
Thanks for sharing this - it was a great read

retSava 2y ago

It's easier to add salt, than to remove it, so I'm always in favor of this strategy. Less salt is one of those things that are good for you and only takes some getting used to. I can't eat any fast food burgers nowadays, they are just too salty.