An Arsenal of Bold Flavours

“Salt sells.” That is a common slogan in the restaurant business. It makes perfect sense, since salt is a powerful flavour enhancer. The goal of any chef is to create a meal that wows your mouth and leaves you wanting more. Fast food chains get the kids shouting out for a trip through the drive-thru every time the car comes anywhere near one.  Manufacturers of frozen entrees want their products to stand out as gourmet.

How can you make your own food, without using high sodium ingredients or shaking in lots of salt, get that “wow?”

Remember that the tongue recognizes four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salt. There are also chemical receptors that sense spicy heat. There is debate in trying to define another taste called umami, which can be described as “meaty.” Those are six sensations, and only one requires salting your food.  If you take away the high dose of salt that we have been conditioned to, five options remain to excite the palate.

Our kitchen is never without:

Sesame oil

Chopped garlic in a jar

Garlic powder

Parmesan cheese*

Ginger

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Cumin

Horseradish

Black Molasses

Real Butter*

* has salt in it, but not as much as you’d think.

A note about “lite” salt... It contains a mixture of sodium chloride (common table salt) and potassium chloride. Used sparingly, it can add a touch of that taste with half the sodium. But half of a lot is still a lot so it is not presented in a shaker at the table. We use “lite” soy sauce only occasionally and sparingly as well, because half of a lot is still a lot. 

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