SC - bieber_ys@Mercer.EDU: PERS Lost Books in SF (fwd)

[Christine A Seelye-King]

JEANNE STAPLETON wrote:
> 
> Is anybody else on the list besides me a sodium chloridaholic?
> 
> I see frequent references to certain types of ham and to feta cheese,
> an especial passion of mine, as "too salty", and I think they're wonderful
> as is.
> 
> Has anyone else had this experience?  Or am I all alone down here at
> the extreme end of the salt spectrometer?
> 
> Berengaria

I'm not too excessive with the salt, but from the number of times I've argued
on this list with people who refuse to use any at all, it would make sense if
I were.

I used to use very little in my own cooking, as in for myself, because I was
brought up with the idea that the cook should be relied upon to season food
accurately, and that dousing food, especially without even tasting it, with
salt, pepper, or condiments was really rude. I still believe this.

Since I've spent years in the restaurant industry, though, my cooking has
become somewhat more salty, presumably in response to the average person's
tastes. I used to work for a chef (actually a quite famous one around these
parts) who had a simple rule. If he received more than five complaints about
excessive seasoning per night, then the food was seasoned too agressively. If
he received between zero and four complaints, the food wasn't seasoned
sufficiently. If he received five complaints, then he knew it was right on the
money. Remember, of course, this was five complaints out of maybe seven
hundred people on a busy night.

Add to that the fact that a good chunk of my experience is (and also some of
the foods I enjoy most) with Provencale cookery, which calls for a lot of
rather outrageously salty foods such as Nicoise olives, anchovies, and various
salty cheeses. And no help from delving into the cuisine of my lady wife's
ancestors: Toysanese food is some of the saltiest in the world, with huge
varieties of salt-preserved pickles, fish, meats, and condiments at most
meals. Rice, on the other hand, is cooked without salt, which makes a nice foil.

Adamantius 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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