Salting and seasoning

Why

Salt suppresses bitterness much more than sweetness, so it not only seasons a dish but rounds it out, and bitter vegetables taste milder once salted. When to salt depends on the method: pasta water right away (see the Cooking pasta card), meat either well ahead or just before searing (see the Salting meat ahead card), and anything that will be reduced for a long time only at the end, because the evaporating water leaves the salt in the pot (see the Reducing a sauce card). Acidity from lemon, vinegar or wine is the second lever of seasoning: a dish that tastes flat although it has enough salt is often missing exactly that, and acid also balances strong sweetness or richness. A raw potato will not rescue an over-salted dish: it soaks up a little salty liquid, but what is left in the pot is just as salty, so only diluting with an unsalted base helps.

How to do it

• Salt gradually and taste; salt added at the start of a long simmer becomes concentrated as the liquid reduces.
• Adjust the salt in soups, sauces and braises only at the end, once they have the consistency you want.
• When a dish tastes flat although it is salty enough, add a drop of lemon juice or vinegar first, not more salt.
• Taste bitter vegetables only once salted, before you start correcting their bitterness with sugar or cream.

If it goes wrong

Dilute an over-salted soup or sauce with unsalted stock, water, cream or milk and bring it back to the right consistency with a short simmer; stretch an over-salted goulash or braised vegetables with another batch of unsalted ingredients. A potato simmered in the pot will not reduce the saltiness, it only soaks up a little liquid. When diluting isn't possible, serve the dish with an unsalted side such as rice or bread.