The Benefits of Salt and Acid

Two of the most overlooked elements of seasoning are the amount of salt and acid in a dish. Salt, when used properly, is meant to heighten one’s enjoyment of the core flavour. For example, a sprinkle of salt on a raw carrot or a spoon of plain peanut butter can make something that is good, great. Without enough salt food can taste insipid and lacking in flavour. Additionally, any food with fat - and meat definitely falls in this category, needs some form of acid to cut the richness, otherwise your taste buds will be muted, and the fat deadens the overall experience. Acid brightens food.

My dad once watched me salt a pot of water that I was going to use to boil some green beans and he almost passed a kidney stone. Him: “Peter, that much salt will kill you!” Me: “Dad, stop listening to your doctor who should have retired eighteen years ago. Get off my back! Arrrggghhh, I can’t wait until I get my own place! I swear to God living here is killing me, not the salt!” The point is you need salt to bring out the natural flavours of food. Some foods, like a big roast or steak, may require a little more salt than other, more delicate things like lettuces, but each ingredient requires its own added salt content. The best thing to do is constantly taste food as you’re cooking it. If you think something tastes a little ho-hum, add a little more salt until the flavour has been heightened. If you need the flavour brightened, you need an acidic component.

I know a lot of restaurant cooks who fail to understand why acid is so important. Imagine this: service is about to begin. Stations will be set up according to mise en place lists. A grill and sauce station will have all of their seasonings needed. Salt, check. Pepper, check. Fresh herbs, check. Butter, check. Olive oil, check. But more times than not cooks won’t have acid hanging around the station to balance out the fats they use in their cooking. Acid is really interesting because you can play with a variety of flavour profiles to achieve different results. When cooking fish, fresh citrus juice is a classic complement. But why not try soft vinegar like one made from rice wine for a different approach.  Making a steak in a heavy stainless steel pan? After you’ve removed the steak from the pan to rest it, try hitting the hot pan with some red wine, fresh thyme and butter for a quick sauce. Want to marinate some chicken in something that will really make it “pop”? Try malt vinegar and sugar. That chicken will sing in the roasting pan, and your mouth. 

All this to say, remember this mnemonic device:

Salt heightens, acid brightens.