A comprehensive guide on how to properly use salt in cooking, featuring insights from culinary experts to enhance flavour and texture across various food categories.
Optimal Salt Usage in Cooking: A Practical Guide
Cooking enthusiasts often grapple with the question of when and how to use salt in their culinary creations. While some dishes might seem simple enough to forgo detailed instructions, understanding proper salting techniques can significantly enhance flavor and texture. This guide explores optimal salt usage with insights from experts Ben Jacobsen, Samin Nosrat, and J. Kenji López-Alt.
Meat: For meats, salting in advance improves flavor, moisture retention, and browning. Nosrat recommends salting large cuts like oxtails and shanks one to two days prior to cooking. López-Alt advises salting steaks more than 40 minutes before or less than three minutes before cooking to avoid surface moisture.
Poultry: Chicken should be salted a day ahead, while turkey benefits from two to three days. Smaller cuts can be salted a few hours before cooking.
Eggs: Salting scrambled eggs 15 minutes before cooking or right before helps achieve well-seasoned and tender eggs. Salting too late can result in tougher eggs.
Seafood: Advance salting can damage delicate proteins in seafood. Flaky fish should be salted 15 minutes before cooking; meaty fish like tuna need 30 minutes. Shellfish should be salted during cooking.
Vegetables: Generally, salting vegetables before cooking helps preserve color and aid in breaking down pectin. However, mushrooms should be salted once they start browning to avoid water release.
Beans and Grains: Salting these at the start of cooking helps soften them and enhance flavor. Soaking beans in salted water ensures creamy texture without rupturing.
Soups, Sauces, and Braises: Layering salt throughout the cooking process provides a nuanced flavor. Salting at several stages, especially if involving salty ingredients, is advised.
Baked Goods: Salt should be added as per the recipe, as it influences not just flavor but the overall baking process.
Following these guidelines can help optimize the use of salt, turning good dishes into great ones with a balanced enhancement of flavors.