Did the wartime generation salt their food more than we do today?

My mother always put salt her cooking and then when it was served up.
I never put salt on anything.

This thread has given me a craving for a soft boiled egg with a liberal shake of salt.

Grannynannywanny

This thread has given me a craving for a soft boiled egg with a liberal shake of salt.

I couldn't eat porridge without a little salt in it.

Yes, they did use more salt than we do now.
It was also used as a preservative before freezers. Runner beans etc were always salted down in preserving jars for the winter months. I really didn't like them as they stayed salty.

Definitely. My dad would add loads to cooking water and then liberally sprinkle it over his dinner. He had low blood pressure and lived to be 96. I’ve never put salt on afterwards so don’t need to wait for the salt cellar to be passed.
I always used it for cooking vegetables until I puréed it for the children as babies when the recommendation is no salt. Didn’t like it at first but got used to it and just carried on. Only use sea salt now which dh sprinkles on everything.

Yes all they seemed to have was salt, maybe it was due to lack of available spices in aftermath of WW2. It definitely was meat and two verge generation, today we have so much choice. Personally I rarely add salt to food, plus too much is bad for you.

When my in-laws come to the table and you give them their plates of food, even before tasting it they ask for the salt and pepper. They add salt with some gusto, but as they haven't tasted it how do they know it needs more salt? I think for them it is just a habit.

Granny 23.. back on page one.

I have had prescription for high blood pressure for some years. not too high, I think..

however, recently having a blood test , I was enquiring why I felt so tired all the time, and was told to have salt, a packet of salt and vinegar crisps,, can`t remember what I was lacking..
never been told to go back for another test!

I suppose you could describe me as a wartime generation person, a child, grew up in the war years, and yes, salt! salt! salt , just as described.. hence I struggle to reduce my salt intake..

confusing what!?

Haven't used salt for years! (And don't miss it).

I had a similar conversation with DD the other day. In the 80s, when the kids were little, there seemed to be a real drive not to let toddlers have salty food. I went from salting everything when cooking, to salting nothing and individuals putting their own salt on when on the plate - which is what I still do.

I couldn't eat eggs or potatoes without salt. I don't add salt when I'm cooking but have to admit to sprinkling it on most food after. I just like salty food. I know should probably reduce it. The practice nurse once told me at one of those Well Woman clinics that most salt is consumed by eating processed food and I don't often eat processed food, other than small amounts of bread, so I'm not too worried. I have low blood pressure anyway.

My mother used to pile the salt at the side of her plate.
She thought it was bad manners to sprinkle it over food.
She was very odd.
As children we had to follow my mothers example and as a result I had no salt as every mouthful was dipped in the stuff and tasted of nothing but salt.

Definitely in my Mum's case!
She boiled veggies with salt, then added so much salt to the meal on her plate the you could see it lying on the food.

She was 96 when she died four years ago, apart from arthritis she was very fit and totally mentally acute. ?

Well, I still salt vegetables, potatoes and porridge when I cook them, but yes, I have noticed that a lot of people don't.

To me food cooked without salt is tasteless and dull, but I agree it is probably healthier in most cases.

We don't eat processed food apart from the occasional tin of beans and a little luncheon meat.

I do add salt to water when I cook but do not put in on the table. I wouldn't say I use a lot though.
I do put a cruet on table if we have other people eating with us & it does annoy me that they salt without tasting first.
None of the family ever add more salt.

My mum certainly used to - she said that during the war, most food was so bland, you had to add salt to make it edible! Unfortunately she never got out of the habit , but I know just what you mean about not being able to replicate dishes that your mum made!

I do not use salt in my cooking or on the table. My OH will sneak salt onto his food despite having high blood pressure. My Mother used to salt her cooking, and salt was always on the table and we used to have a salt pile on our plates especially when celery with bread and butter was for tea. How times have changed.

Salt in our butter , salt in bread and biscuits, tins of baked beans, not much need to add extra salt these days and if you buy processed food the salt content can be way over your daily average suggested intake.

I'm Scottish. I haven't been aware of salt being ' a thing ' here. I do add a very little when cooking, but never at the table.

I think they did use more salt years ago than what we do now. There are that many processes goods that have loads of salt in them that you don't need to add much to your diet. I put salt in the vet when I'm cooking but not on my plate. I also buy reduced salt gravy cubes and gravy mix.

My MIL, born 1909, used copious amounts of salt in cooking - I thought everything tasted like seawater! To top that my FIL used to liberally sprinkle more salt over his plate without tasting it first.
I think it is what you get used to. I have weaned my DH off so much salt over the years. I had to have a low sodium diet during pregnancy 40+ years ago and I got used to having food without salt and rarely use it now, just a little on chips and like MrsEggy on the occasional boiled egg.

I don't use much salt but my mother did. It didn't seem to do her any harm as she reached the age of 100.

In those days we always put salt in the cooking water and there was always a cruet on the table. We didn’t use so many herbs and spices yet everything seemed more tasty. Meat had more fat and ham and bacon was not processed..

My parents used salt in everything too much in fact. They had no fridge just s larder when we were young it was used as a preservative. I don't salt food when cooking but sprinkle on a little Anglesey sea salt on my food,

My Nan and Mum always used plenty of salt in their cooking. I never use it to cook veg of any type and we always buy a low salt version of ketchup, gravy granules, beans etc if there is one available. (I don’t eat the beans or use ketchup) The only things I really use salt for is cucumber and tomatoes in my salad! Probably shouldn’t but not the same without it!

My father used way too much salt on his food and died of a heart attack at 72.