12 March 08 - Spicy

[Jezebel]

PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[Wrench]

Mustard and cracked pepper, baby. Though, no doubt I could cook it with salt, pepper and butter and it would be just as tasty.

I'm not really all THAT against spices in general. I just think that too often, people seem to treat them like they can just toss some spices on and it'll magically make their food taste better - but then somehow forget SALT. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how anyone could put out food that was underseasoned. Despite LITERALLY being a four-letter-word, Salt is NOT a four letter word. Food needs salt. Salt, properly used, doesn't mask a food's flavor - it enhances it. Same for pepper - pepper just wakes up the palate and aids in digestion. Butter helps carry the natural flavors inherent in the meat. Too often these three ingredients are either overused or underused, and the resulting food is either bland, or is masked by the spices used.

All things in moderation. I'm all for using marinades and whatnot - but if I'm cooking marinated chicken, and it doesn't taste like CHICKEN anymore, then we've got a problem.

My experiences are generally on the opposite end of the spectrum: So many people don't know when to STOP seasoning. My husband is one such person; everything he cooks comes out too salty, too spicy, too over-seasoned for any of the subtle flavors of the actual food to shine through. And since I'm a vegetarian, and many vegetables have very subtle flavors that merely need to be gently coaxed out, this can be a Very Bad Thing.

As far as salt, I find that a small pinch of kosher goes a lot farther than a teaspoon of table salt. The quality of the salt matters just as much as, if not more than, the quantity. When my parents went to Hawaii they got me some amazing red volcanic salt that works awesome with fish, and some lavender salt that tastes amazing with fruit dishes. (Yes, I'm a food snob.)

[Mae Dean]

As far as salt, I find that a small pinch of kosher goes a lot farther than a teaspoon of table salt. The quality of the salt matters just as much as, if not more than, the quantity.

I don't even HAVE table salt in the house. We use kosher salt almost exclusively, and I have a little container of Phillipine Sea Salt that I use on very special occasions.

[StruckingFuggle]

You use kosher salt at the table?


(also, do you have any superfine / 'popcorn' salt? )

[Mae Dean]

You use kosher salt at the table?

I don't have salt on the table. I season food properly before it gets there, and it's never needed. Ever.

(also, do you have any superfine / 'popcorn' salt? )

Nah, but it has its use. Occasionally. Really, I'd like to get my hands on some pretzel salt - I have a hankering to make pretzels recently.

[teddy]

Smoked salmon is nice, especially with some Worcester sauce.

Worcestershire. And while I don't know why that bothered me, it did so to my very core. Crap...

[StruckingFuggle]

I don't have salt on the table. I season food properly before it gets there, and it's never needed. Ever.

... How do you do that for multiple people? o.O Especially if you have something like fries or any other majority=potato dish?

Nah, but it has its use. Occasionally. Really, I'd like to get my hands on some pretzel salt - I have a hankering to make pretzels recently.

Oh man, popcorn salt doesn't have many uses, but it's amazing on popcorn. Before I tried it, I was wondering how much of a difference there could be, between ordinary table salt and super-fine table salt, but holy crap.

And also, there's no reason to not have any, if you have salt and a blender or food processor.

[Mae Dean]

... How do you do that for multiple people? o.O Especially if you have something like fries or any other majority=potato dish?

Well, keep in mind - it's usually just Liz and myself. But for the most part, seasoning is universal. When something is seasoned just right, neither too salty nor too bland, it doesn't need to be adjusted. I don't usually make french fries, but if additional salt was REALLY needed by liz, I just hand her the little container of kosher salt and she can go to town. She can attest, however, that it's rarely if ever necessary.

Oh man, popcorn salt [...] there's no reason to not have any, if you have salt and a blender or food processor.

Good point. I actually keep meaning to go buy a coffee grinder for that very reason. a $15 coffee grinder was the best spice grinder we used at La Folie.

[JermCool]

Have you ever tried a cedar-plank salmon? This is something my dad turned me on to. Add a dash of salt and it becomes perfection.

[Lizzegirle]

I don't have salt on the table. I season food properly before it gets there, and it's never needed. Ever.

... How do you do that for multiple people? o.O Especially if you have something like fries or any other majority=potato dish?

Greg has gotten pretty good at serving several at once. If you season as you go, then there really isn't a need for it. Although, I prefer a little bit of salt on my baked potatoes so I make him bring the sea salt to the table. That's about the only time where I eat something and think it's too bland and needs a bit of salt.

[Wrench]

Nah, but it has its use. Occasionally. Really, I'd like to get my hands on some pretzel salt - I have a hankering to make pretzels recently.

http://secretcopycatrecipes.blogspot.co ... tzels.html

That's the recipe to use. Seriously, I don't know if you ever had Auntie Annie's pretzels in CA, but they're the best. Ever. The PA Deutsch know how to do their thang. I just made them last weekend, and with some cinnamon sugar they were amazing.

Also... if you really need something on the table, kosher salt + food processor = fine kosher salt that dissolves quickly. Table salt just has too many additives to really season the food; that's why so many people end up thinking that salted food tastes salty. 'Cause if you're using inferior salt, it DOES.

Dammit, that's it, I'm going to culinary school once Uncle Sam decides to pay for my ejewkashun.

[adciv]

http://secretcopycatrecipes.blogspot.co ... tzels.html

Rant: I'm about to gain 5 kilos.

As far as salt, I find that a small pinch of kosher goes a lot farther than a teaspoon of table salt. The quality of the salt matters just as much as, if not more than, the quantity.

I don't even HAVE table salt in the house. We use kosher salt almost exclusively, and I have a little container of Phillipine Sea Salt that I use on very special occasions.

Ok, I'm guessing the iodine in table salt messes up some recipes? But what is special about Philippine Sea Salt?

[Wrench]

http://secretcopycatrecipes.blogspot.co ... tzels.html

Rant: I'm about to gain 5 kilos.

As far as salt, I find that a small pinch of kosher goes a lot farther than a teaspoon of table salt. The quality of the salt matters just as much as, if not more than, the quantity.

I don't even HAVE table salt in the house. We use kosher salt almost exclusively, and I have a little container of Phillipine Sea Salt that I use on very special occasions.

Ok, I'm guessing the iodine in table salt messes up some recipes? But what is special about Philippine Sea Salt?

Sea salts all taste different depending on where they're cultivated. It just depends on the minerals in the water. For instance, Celtic sea salt has some of the highest mineral concentrations of any edible salts, so you wouldn't use it to replace plain old kosher. There are also flavored salts, where herbs or minerals are added to the salt during the curing process -- though they're still more popular in Europe and the Middle East than here, unfortunately.

Additionally, table salt has more than just iodine; it also contains additives to keep it from clumping. Plus, since the grains are smaller, you would need about an extra third part of kosher salt for every one part of table salt, since one cup of table (or any other small-grain salt) weighs more than a cup of kosher. Kosher doesn't cut it for everything though; for instance, kosher salt doesn't dissolve in cold liquids, where table salt will. But for such applications I'd still rather use pickling salt than table... it just doesn't taste right.

[elenaran]

salmon + fresh dill + lemon = tasty



Also, RE: Salt; I use kosher salt for everything except baking. Then I use a decent, but not too expensive sea salt.

[adciv]

Kosher doesn't cut it for everything though; for instance, kosher salt doesn't dissolve in cold liquids, where table salt will.

Last I checked NaCl was NaCl. How does the other stuff affect the dissolving?