Cooks Commons: The Importance of Salt

People always tell me that I use a heck of a lot of salt when I cook. But when they get the finished dish, they forget all about the terrific amount of salt I added. Salt brings out flavors, it enhances food. It is one of the main four flavors: sweet, bitter, sour and salty. There are scientists who claim there is a fifth flavor "umami," but I am not buying it.

Let me share a little story about the importance of salt. When I began cooking years ago, I did not understand how to use salt. I only knew that my father seemed to salt everything he ate before he even tasted his food. So when I decided to pursue cooking as a career, I went to culinary school and positioned myself to get into the best restaurants in the area. At culinary school I learned that seasoning is very important; it can make or break a dish, figuratively speaking. The instructors showed us how to use them to bring out flavors and such, but for the most part we just followed the recipes. I regret we never did a taste comparison or anything like that in school. We students could have used it. Though one day at a non-cook friend's house, he got a lesson in seasoning and I got my hands-on example.

My friend made his grandmother's chili. He talked about this chili all the time. She lived a ways away so I could never try it. One day he finally brought back the recipe. As soon as he could, he procured the ingredients "word-for-word" for the recipe. He was so eager to whip up this chili and share it with friends and impress me. The day came and I was full of anticipation. We gathered our bowls, ladled out the hot, aromatic gruel and garnished it with scallions, cheddar cheese, sour cream and fresh jalapeños.

We sat, we tasted, and we were unsure of this kick-ass chili. It was missing something? I couldn't put my finger on it right away. I was only cooking professionally for about a year or so. Could I figure what it needed? I took a look at the recipe and turned to the uneasy chili chef and said, "Did you use any salt?" He gulped, he stated, "It wasn't on the recipe." Sure, it wasn't on the recipe because grandma knew how to cook. She seasoned as she went and built flavors. A cook worth his weight in salt would know how to season. I guess the chili chef needed a lesson. I had everyone pull their garnishes off the chili poured it back into the main pot. We're friends, and this was for the food, so it wasn't gross. Then I added some salt and black pepper and let the chili simmer for about ten minutes.

When it was ready, it was a truly great chili, well seasoned and with a kick. The flavor completely changed for the better. It suddenly had body and flavor. My friend learned a hard lesson in cooking that day. Today he is a better cook for it. You can go overboard with salt, so be careful. A good dish should never be salty, just perfectly seasoned. This knack does take time to learn. Try making homemade bread without salt, and you'll find that it's not good. As for what kind of salt to use, I stay with kosher salt. I have tried sea salt and others, but I just like the way it feels in hand when seasoning. I do stick to iodized when baking, as small granules are best in this case. Always remember, salt is your friend.

Steven Buchholz is the founder of Cooks Commons, your online culinary resource.