When and how much salt to add when cooking fills many cooks with uncertainty, shaking their confidence. Should salt be added at the beginning of the cooking process, in the middle or at the end?
Let’s start by looking at how much salt to add when cooking.
I know that many cooks, particularly novice cooks, get very frustrated when they read a recipe that says, “add salt and pepper to taste.” When I write a recipe, I often use those words. It is only when the flavours have to come together in a specific way to yield a certain taste that I suggest a specific amount of salt or sugar. The reason why many recipes call for salt to taste is simply because we all have varying levels of taste when it comes to salt. It is the same way that each of us has a different level of tolerance for heat from pepper. When I make fish cakes I like them to have a bit of heat so I would add a tablespoon of minced scotch bonnet pepper to the mixture, but in the recipe I can’t specify that you should do the same because I do not know your tolerance level for heat. Therefore, I would instruct, pepper to taste.
