Cooking Sans Salt? Better Get to Know Your Tongue
Low-sodium or salt-free dishes needn’t be bland
By Leitha Matz
Exalted throughout history and literature, brandished as an emblem of virtue, and once so valuable its name was synonymous with wealth, salt has become in modern times the epitome of commonplace. It accents your soups, lunchmeats, cheeses, baked goods, and breakfast cereals. Tiny packets of the stuff are tossed mindlessly atop your takeout orders. Salt is used liberally as a preservative, a processing agent, and as a flavor-enhancer in prepared meals and packaged snacks. Indeed, salt is as ubiquitous as granulated sugar – a tabletop fixture across the nation and around the world.
Yet salt can be lethal. The American Dietetic Association reports that, while the minimum recommended daily dietary intake of sodium is about 500 milligrams, the upper limit is roughly 2,300 milligrams (about one teaspoon). Many Americans consume up to 6,000 milligrams of sodium a day.
We know that too little or too much salt in the body can lead to dysfunction or death. Still, most people don’t give their saltshakers a thought until a doctor advises restriction. While there’s a good deal of controversy over whether or not low-salt diets can actually affect hypertension, most medical professionals agree that some people are more sodium-sensitive than others. Heavy salt consumption also creates extra work for the kidneys and contributes to an increase in blood pressure, which often aggravates heart conditions.
People who are new to monitoring their salt intake are often shocked to discover high levels of sodium in everything from canned beans to bread to sliced pastrami. Just read the nutrition information on soup cans, salad-dressing bottles, sauce jars, cereal boxes. It’s not uncommon to find 300 milligrams or more of sodium per serving. Add a cup of milk to your cereal, and watch the sodium increase by another 120 milligrams.
Thankfully, a whole world of flavor options exists beyond salt. Fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish are terrific choices. They’re naturally delicious, and need little or no additional seasoning. When certain dishes do call for flavor enhancements, you’ll be better equipped to tease out tastes if you learn the secrets of your tongue.
Human beings detect flavor with the help of tiny taste-receptor cells that cluster inside thousands of taste buds on the tongue. Each taste bud channels food molecules to 50 to 100 receptor cells. Biologists used to claim that flavor receptors were bundled into distinct regions of sensitivity across the tongue. To illustrate this, textbooks provided labeled tongue maps to show which parts of the tongue were sensitive to salty, sour, sweet, and bitter tastes. Nowadays, research shows that every taste bud contains all four flavor receptors, plus a fifth one that detects a “meaty” or “savory” sensation and has been named umami by Japanese scientists.
Foods that taste good generally tickle multiple flavor receptors simultaneously, which is why most people find a teaspoon of ordinary table salt unpleasant, and a teaspoon of plain sugar boring. A teaspoon of barbecue sauce, on the other hand, is mouthwatering because it offers a bouquet of flavors that are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory.
Keeping in mind this palette of flavors, reduced-salt cooking doesn’t need to be synonymous with bland. When reducing or eliminating salty tastes, look to the sweet, sour, bitter, and savory to pick up the slack. These other points on the flavor spectrum can be used singly or in tandem to delight your senses:
Cooking chicken, duck, or turkey?
Accompany the dish with something sweet and tangy. Try a sauce made of simmered berries, a squeeze of orange juice, or a fresh, chopped-fruit chutney or salsa. You can also slowly simmer aged balsamic vinegar (watch for a slight thickening in the bubbles) and drizzle it as a glaze over poultry or steak.
Preparing green vegetables or fish?
Explore sour tastes: A squeeze of fresh lime or a drizzle of lemon-herb dressing just before service will add sparkle to the dish.
With roasted root vegetables, slow-cooked tomato dishes, pork and red meats?
Try fresh or dried herbs, spice blends, fresh-ground pepper, and flavorful vinegars (both herb-infused and those made from wines or ciders).
Some salt substitutes employ a flavor-swapping method of replacing sodium with citric acid, orange oils, or lemon peel (sour elements), and dried onions or various herbs (bitter elements). You can easily experiment with your own blends at home. Just keep in mind that herb and spice vitality decreases with age. Try to keep your purchases small, and store in airtight jars away from heat, light, and humidity.
Versatile Herb Blend
This makes about 1/2 cup. Sprinkle on anything savory and blend into unsalted butter to make a delicious accent for your bread, fish, or cooked vegetables.
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried crushed basil
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1 tsp dried chopped parsley
1 tsp dried chopped savory
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp powder-style dry mustard
Dash of cayenne pepper, or to taste
Mix well. Store in an airtight container.
Basic Chinese Five-Spice Blend
Goes well with chicken, fish, or pork. But be warned – it’s pungent – so use sparingly.
2 1/2 Tbsp ground star anise
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground fennel
1 1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground clove
Mix well. Store in an airtight container.
Southwestern Marinade
This recipe makes enough liquid (about 1 cup) to marinate a pound of meat. Good with chicken, beef, or pork.
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground chipotle chili powder, or to taste
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
Blend spices in a bowl. Mix in lime juice until combined. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking to incorporate.
