In fine art, less is more. The same axiom is applied in the culinary world with spices and seasonings as they relate to enhancing the flavor of a given dish. One of the oldest, most commonly used (and overused) food seasonings is salt. The use of salt by humans has been traced to the Neolithic people as far back as 6050 BC., as well as to China and ancient Egypt.
There are several types of salt suitable for human consumption: kosher salt, refined salt, and unrefined sea salt. Refined table salt from salt mines is the most common kind of salt used in most households.
But the refining process strips the salt of minerals and is responsible for the vapid and biting flavor in comparison to unprocessed salt which contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, sulfur, iron, copper, and others.
American salt manufacturers began iodizing salt in the 1920’s because people in regions of the U.S. suffered from goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by an iodine deficiency. Today, most people require less than 225 micrograms of iodine daily.
Kosher salt has a much larger grain size than common table salt, and contains no iodide or additives. Sea salt refers to unrefined salt from the ocean or sea that contains natural traces of the minerals mentioned above; and hand harvested natural sea salt’s unique flavor depends on the region of the country from which it’s harvested.
Chefs use several varieties of gourmet sea salts, including French sea salt from the Atlantic, Grey seal sea salt found in the Brittany region of France, Hawaiian sea salt, Italian sea salt from the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of Sicily, and smoked sea salt made from naturally smoked salt, slow-smoked over real wood fires to infuse the salt crystals.
Cooking with salt while lowering the sodium content is an art
Some suggest those with “a trained palate” — derived from an understanding of flavor gained from hands-on experiences with seasoning of foods — are more equipped at preparing savory low sodium dishes.
Be they amateur or weekend chefs, I’ve read claims that Americans chefs are more aggressive with salt seasoning than other chefs in different parts of the world.
At the recent Worlds of Healthy Flavors Conference, Culinary Professor David Kamen and Dr. Chris Loss presented research results from a project investigating strategies for reducing sodium in foods.
Kamen and Loss conducted experiments to gauge the effects of different types of salts in common foods that included chicken broth, mashed potatoes, and bratwurst sausage. They determined that sodium reductions of as much as one-third can be achieved without an unfavorable sense on the palate.