To salt or not to salt?

Salt has a 4,000-year history. To make it through rough winters, meats were cured and fruits and vegetables pickled and preserved. Undoubtedly, humans became conditioned to like savoury foods.

But is there a scientific reason to salt? Hervé This, renowned chef and scientist, is widely credited with opening a new field of research: molecular gastronomy. In his influential book, Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, he makes an interesting assertion, based on his and others’ experiments. “Without salt,” he says, “agreeable tastes forfeit their prominence, and they are unable to prevent disagreeable tastes from asserting themselves.”

How does one attempt to prove this? This (pronounced ‘Tees’) explains that salt functions as a texture enhancer, as it increases the ionic strength of liquid and facilitates the separation of ‘smell’ molecules from the food. Olfactory sensation plays a role in taste, and therefore salt plays a role in taste. Sodium chloride is also a “taste molecule that stimulates the papillary receptors.”

Of course, many things that taste wonderful are not exactly healthy choices. That is not the entire story with salt. Salt is good for us – in moderate doses. It comprises nearly one percent of our blood. In the US, the National Academy of Sciences recommends a daily intake of 500 mg of sodium for good health.

How much is too much? The US government recommends that the average person consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium (about 1 tsp of salt) per day. In the UK, it is nine grams of salt. That’s not a whole lot. Excess salt can lead to high blood pressure and other health problems.

Salt – and shop – wisely, says the UK government: “About 75% of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, including many breakfast cereals, biscuits, soups, sauces, ready-prepared meals, crisps and savoury snacks. So it's important to shop carefully.” It recommends choosing products that claim to have 'no added salt' and comparing nutritional information on the packaging to similar products.

Unfortunately, these recommendations are easier said than done. The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services warns that some manufacturers may be purposely misleading consumers about the salt content of their foods. Although the exact figures of salt tend to be correct, the agency found evidence that serving sizes of some foods are skewed so that the amount of salt in a single serving appears moderate. It cites chicken nuggets, some of which are labled per nugget for salt content, as well as curries, where serving sizes range from 175 g to 500 g.

What is one to do? Going back to basics seems to be the best way forward. Cooking soups and curries from scratch, buying fresh meat and vegetables, flavouring food with herbs and spices, rather than salt and tasting the food before adding salt should help along the way. Forsake salt completely, however, and the quality of the food will suffer. Use a worthy salt: this one is organic (despite the fact that salt cannot be organic, the Organic Food Federation has awarded it “Approved Product” status) and, as Maldon is less than 50 miles away from east London, it’s local.