Heard a line cook in Portland say 'salt is a process, not an ingredient'

It was during a busy brunch shift, and it clicked for me. I've been adding it all at once, but layering it in stages builds way more flavor. Anyone else adjust their salting method after a simple comment like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

finley_shah641mo ago

Wow, that's a great way to put it... I always just salted at the end, but that makes total sense.

troyknight1mo ago

My buddy learned that the hard way with a bland pasta disaster.

the_william1mo ago

I get why salting at the end makes sense to some, but in my experience you just can't build flavor that way. The salt needs time to cook into the food itself. Otherwise you just get bland pasta with a salty surface.

stella_scott9613d ago

But @troyknight, isn't it possible your buddy just didn't add ENOUGH salt at the end? I've made perfectly good pasta by salting the water heavy and hitting it with a bit more butter and salt in the pan to finish.