Salt, or Pepper?

Got curious the other day when I reached over to the little ceramic tubs we use for salt and pepper. Noticed that we are using significantly more black pepper than salt in our daily usage.

Thing is, I really love salt---and I'm not talking the fancy gourmet stuff either---I'm talking table salt (either granular of Kosher flake).

Yet, when I noticed the situation, it was obvious we were going through a small bin of pepper about four times as often as we replenished the table salt.

I can't point to any particular moment when that shift occurred, except perhaps shifting off red meats almost entirely and using more chicken and fish. And I would surmise we are eating a greater percentage of veggies now as well.

But almost any dish, I can consider adding pepper to, and often do. Nowadays, not so much salt.

Anybody care to chime in on this? What do you use more, salt or pepper?

I have never been a big user of salt at the table. The exceptions are: raw tomatoes, eggs (when simply prepared), french fries (if the cook didn't do it), and corn on the cob. Otherwise, I deal with the salting while the food is cooking.

Black pepper is more directly appealing for table use because it's so aromatic at the moment it is ground.

Twenty years ago I stopped using salt both when I cook and at the table, with one exception: deep fried potatoes.

Most of the foods I eat provide enough dietary sodium, and I find spicing food a better alternative than salting it.

[Robin Garr]

Salt is good, but it needs to be used judiciously, tasting as you go. I'd rather try to hit it right in the kitchen, but don't get bent out of shape if someone wants to add more at the table. (Of course, there's the old urban legend about Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Jack Welch, whoever, who would evaluate job candidates over lunch and disqualify any who salted their meal without tasting it first. I never viewed this as symptomatic of great management skills. )

As for pepper, could this be a Baby Boomer thing? I've read quite a few studies (or maybe anecdotal non-studies) suggesting that some people lose smell and taste sensitivity with age and begin adding more pepper and other intense flavors to their diet to compensate.

Both.

Salt is good, but it needs to be used judiciously, tasting as you go. I'd rather try to hit it right in the kitchen, but don't get bent out of shape if someone wants to add more at the table. (Of course, there's the old urban legend about Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Jack Welch, whoever, who would evaluate job candidates over lunch and disqualify any who salted their meal without tasting it first. I never viewed this as symptomatic of great management skills. )

As for pepper, could this be a Baby Boomer thing? I've read quite a few studies (or maybe anecdotal non-studies) suggesting that some people lose smell and taste sensitivity with age and begin adding more pepper and other intense flavors to their diet to compensate.

Robin:

Have you ever watched Lidia Batianich's cooking show? She adds enough salt when cooking--without ever measuring--to keep East Coast snow from piling up.

[Robin Garr]

Have you ever watched Lidia Batianich's cooking show?

Nope. I went to Felidia in the '80s and was profoundly disappointed. Why would I want to watch her cooking show?

Like Thomas, I don't add salt when cooking or at the table.

I don't 'get' pepper, grind in some when cooking if I remember and it says so in the recipe but never have it at the table.

Now, fresh chillis and chilli sauces are a different matter -- I get a through a lot of both of them

Peter, I read (long ago; don't remember source) that putting black pepper in while cooking is not that productive. Apparently the prolonged intense heat breaks down the peppery character. Better, it said, to use the pepper as garnish at service, to provide more intense pepperiness.

I've done it that way as long as I remember. Salt when cooking; pepper when serving.

I heard that about black and white pepper. Like Peter, I go for the hotter stuff when I use pepper, except for a few dishes that require more subtlety in pepper spice. We grow cayenne and other hotties--freeze them over the winter and dry some. Never without 'em. But you have to taste each one first--some of them from the same garden row just aren't hot.

I never put salt on the table and can't remember anyone asking. Except my uncle who always asks for extra salt and extra everything, before even tasting the food and no matter where he is.

Of course I generally salt things adequately. (At least I think so! My wife sometimes finds the food a bit too heavy on the salt, but I'm the one doing the cooking)

I tend to agree with what Hoke mentioned about pepper losing much of its flavor when it's added during the cooking process. I therefore try to get everything salted correctly while cooking with pepper added afterwards, before and after serving. I don't always get the salt right, though, and I will to undersalt rather than overdo it. There's always salt on the table for such occasions or for those who want more than I would find appropriate.

[Jenise]

Peter, I read (long ago; don't remember source) that putting black pepper in while cooking is not that productive. Apparently the prolonged intense heat breaks down the peppery character. Better, it said, to use the pepper as garnish at service, to provide more intense pepperiness.

It is true that black pepper breaks down, but so all the herbs you add, the garlic, the onion, etc. All change during prolonged cooking and add to the complexity of a dish. Pepper added early is not wasted. But, toward the end of cooking, it is also often useful to re-fresh a dish with more pepper, or freshly crushed garlic, or a handful of parsley or a squirt of lemon juice--name your poison--for added emphasis.

I just read in an article what I have always believed and practiced: lemon juice instead of salt.

[Jenise]

I just read in an article what I have always believed and practiced: lemon juice instead of salt.

Awesome on corn on the cob, for instance.

[Robin Garr]

Lime juice works even more fascinatingly on corn than lemon, IMO. I'd use it in addition to a little salt, though, not instead of. Lemon is good. Salt is good. But they do different things.

Lime juice works even more fascinatingly on corn than lemon, IMO. I'd use it in addition to a little salt, though, not instead of. Lemon is good. Salt is good. But they do different things.

Agreed.

On a related note, try freshly ground black pepper on cantaloupe.

Lime juice works even more fascinatingly on corn than lemon, IMO. I'd use it in addition to a little salt, though, not instead of. Lemon is good. Salt is good. But they do different things.

Agreed.

On a related note, try freshly ground black pepper on cantaloupe.

Yeah, that's standard here.

Lime juice works even more fascinatingly on corn than lemon, IMO. I'd use it in addition to a little salt, though, not instead of. Lemon is good. Salt is good. But they do different things.

Add tequila and you're good to go.

Seriously, lime is good on corn. Sometimes I'll just marinate some sweet corn and chopped red peppers in lime juice as a side dish.

Wait, that would be vegan ceviche, wouldn't it?

Vegan Ceviche

Sounds like a character in a Mexican soap opera.

cooked pepper has a funny 'musty' taste IMO - and i think i read this in Escoffier once. so i use it only at the table where the fresh, distinctive flavors show off. i have 7 different peppers and when you use them at table they really are different. not when cooking with them.