For this article I am going to delve into the complexities of salt and why we cannot make exquisite meals without it. You may be wondering why I am calling salt a spice, when in fact it is a mineral with a chemical symbol of NACL (sodium chloride). I am sure you all have heard Doctors tout the statement "eat less salt"; I would agree with that statement if they would also clarify which type of salt they are referring to.
Our body needs salt to survive; one of the tongue's taste buds is used for salty flavors. All salt is not the same! What most Doctors and nutritionists are referring to is common ordinary processed table salt, which usually has no resemblance to real salt and has very little value to the human body.
Salt should be used in moderation, as with any food and should be used as a flavor enhancer, the same as any other spice. Real salt is unrefined, unprocessed sea salt, which is actually good for you but by no means does that mean eat as much as you want.
The elucidation to finding a salt you like is to try as many as possible from many different regions and a variety of curing processes. You should never taste salt in your home cooked meals. As with any spice, salt has many different subtle flavors, depending on which region it is harvested from.
I do not like Pacific Ocean salt; it is too salty for me. I personally found I like Mediterranean fine and coarse French sea salt (sell gris) for cooking, I also have found I like the French Fleur de Sell as a finishing salt.
It is the most misunderstood and misused element in the cooking process. Salt is the single most important component in any dish.
You must taste salt and decide for yourself because no one can tell you how much salt to add to the dish.
