When should you salt?
In the kitchen, we salt very frequently, almost all the time, and we must be careful because this salt can influence the texture of what you are cooking.
I'm not going to talk about the amount of salt here, that's for another time, but rather about : When do you salt?
I'm not going to talk about the amount of salt here, that's for another time, but rather about : When do you salt?
14 K 4.5/5 (22 reviews)
Keywords for this post:SaltSaltTimeCookingLast modified on: August 13th 2019
When should you salt?
Let's imagine that you are going to prepare leeks. There are thousands of ways to do it, but one of the most classic is "sautéed".
By doing so, you will have a cooking that preserves the structure of the vegetable, and you avoid the excess of liquid at the bottom of your pan.
To sum up: When cooking vegetables or mushrooms, it is best to add salt only once the cooking is finished, to keep your vegetables in good condition.
How do you do it?
- You peel, wash, dry and slice your leeks
- You do the same thing with a shallot
- In a saucepan or a frying pan, you heat a littleoil or butter or clarified butter
- Once it's hot, you pour in the shallot, stir a little and add a little salt and pepper
Here is the first salt shaker, note that it is light, and concerns (for the moment) only the shallot, we continue...
- Cook the shallot, 1 minute maximum, it must not colour or turn brown (we say"without colouring")
- Add the leeks, stir well to mix, and do not add any salt.
Why not? Well, because the salt with its hygroscopic side, if you add it now, will "pump" the water out of the leeks, water that will end up at the bottom of the pan, and that you will have to remove later by overcooking.
Moreover, if the water is extracted from the leeks, they will become excessively soft and less appetizing, losing their beautiful green colour more easily. Let's continue... - You cook/sauté the leeks like this, uncovered, stirring from time to time, until they are soft to your taste, but still green
- And finally, off the heat, you add salt and pepper to taste
By doing so, you will have a cooking that preserves the structure of the vegetable, and you avoid the excess of liquid at the bottom of your pan.
To sum up: When cooking vegetables or mushrooms, it is best to add salt only once the cooking is finished, to keep your vegetables in good condition.
Lasts posts
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.January 27th 20251,447
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...December 25th 20241,8235
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20242,7525
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20242,8905
No need to boil gelatin
Gelatin is a magical ingredient for making light, creamy, structured desserts, yet it's often misused in the kitchen. A common mistake in some recipes is the idea that it needs to be boiled for it to work properly, but this is a mistake indeed: gelatin melts at a much lower temperature, around...November 21th 20242,6425
Other pages you may also like
Steam for baking bread
What does steam have to do with bread-making? This is not only a bakers' secret, it is something you might not think of at all: if you make bread and bake it like a cake, you will end up with bread, but pale and with a thick, hard crust – a long way from the golden-brown crusty loaf you had in...June 16th 2021139 K4.5
Perpetual stock
It's something you have probably have done yourself: cooked or pre-cooked vegetables before adding them to a recipe. This is almost always done the same way: peel the chosen vegetables (carrots, for example), cut them up, boil them in salted water (using a tablespoon or so of coarse salt per litre),...November 22th 201626 K5
Choosing a chopping board
It's a no-brainer, surely? If you want a chopping board, just find a piece of wood, and Bob's your uncle! You can happily chop away with a knife and not damage the table or worktop. But in reality, it's a bit more complicated than that. You need to be careful what you are buying, in particular the...May 8th 201247 K4.6
How to zest a fruit?
You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish. There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of...November 5th 201342 K3.8
Baking cakes
Where we see that to put a cake in the oven, once the dough is finished and in its mould, there is no hurry and that the cold is your friend.June 28th 201941 K4.1
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.