How does a small amount of salt affect the flavor of a recipe with large amounts of other ingredients?

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How does a small amount of salt affect the flavor of a recipe with large amounts of other ingredients?

In: Chemistry

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

This might be not true (feel free to correct me) but I remember someone telling me about how we taste salt so strongly because it is a genetic advantage to be able to differentiate between salty and fresh water. That genetic link leads our body to be sensitive to the taste of salt as to warn our ancestors to find new water sources.

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By David Joachim

Salt, the only rock we eat, is more than just a seasoning—it’s an essential flavor in our food. It can intensify aromas, balance other flavors, make meat taste juicier, and preserve food for months or even years. Yet a heavy hand with salt can easily ruin a dish. Here’s how to cook wisely with the world’s most vital mineral.

In a number of ways. Salt is one of the five basic tastes that we’re hard-wired to detect (along with bitter, sweet, sour, and umami or savory). It enhances foods by essentially turning up the volume of their salty flavors. Salt can also dial down the taste of bitter foods by suppressing our perception of bitterness, and balance other tastes like sweet and sour (salt added to desserts or vinaigrettes, for example). Salt also unravels (or denatures) the tight spiral structure of proteins, making their flavors tastier and more aromatic.

Even the texture of salt enhances the taste of food. Flake salts like Maldon or Halen Môn Gold sprinkled over a green salad transmit crunchy bursts of saltiness that enhance the soft texture and mild flavors of lettuce leaves and other vegetables. And surprisingly, salt brings out aromas, too, because it helps release aroma molecules from food into the air. These stimulate our olfactory receptors, helping us to smell things.