Paper Palate

I am a salt fanatic. I seek out different varieties and blends to experiment with. Sea salt is a constant in my house, though I often will use the more traditional kosher salt for cooking.

An Associated Press story in the Hartford Courant confirmed something I’ve been preaching for a long time: salt enhances the flavors of other foods. The article goes on to state that it’s a misconception to think that cutting the amount of salt in a recipe is going to help you substantially cut back on sodium in a diet. In fact, most of the sodium that people intake comes from processed foods.

Just 11 percent of the salt in the average American’s diet comes from salt added at the stove or table. The rest comes mostly from processed and restaurant foods, which is why the American Medical Association recently called for those industries to halve their salt levels during the coming decade.

So cutting back on processed foods and eating out can positively impact a persons sodium intake. Hey, that’ll have a positive impact on your wallet as well as your waistline. Consuming high amounts of sodium not only effects your blood pressure, but your water retention as well. And when you retain water, you weigh more and have less energy. Seems like a lot of good reasons to cut back to me.

On a day-to-day basis, salt is okay to cook with. Hell, it’s great for your food because it enhances flavor, but what kind of salt is right for what usage? That was answered succinctly in the article, which offered the following tips:

Here are some basic guidelines for using salt at the stove and the table:

Table salt works equally well in the shaker and in cooking, though it lacks the textural appeal of sea and kosher salts. It generally is preferred for baking because it dissolves more uniformly than larger salts.

Kosher salt also works equally well for cooking and table use. Many cooks prefer it to table for cooking because it is easier to pinch. The coarse grains adhere well to food and provide a crunchy texture.

Ground or flaked sea salts dissolve very quickly and provide little texture. They work well on the table, and on foods such as popcorn, because their irregular shapes adhere well to the kernels.

Sea salts and seasoned sea salts are best for table use, where their size and texture can be fully appreciated. They provide good crunch and texture. Some say the higher mineral content also produces distinct flavors.