S and P or not

That was my point.
Some people say they'll give salt if it's asked for, rather than putting it out.
I'd feel rude, asking for it.

I don’t see why, MissAdventure. People’s taste buds do vary - we don’t invariably all like the same things. I’m never offended if anyone adds S or P. I’d only be offended, or rather upset, if they picked at it and evidently didn’t enjoy it at all.

I'm no expert in etiquette, but it seems rude, to me, to taste someone's cooking and immediately ask for salt.

My DH automatically adds salt and black pepper to his food as soon as its set in front of him and before he takes a bite. Even if I warn him "its already pretty salty/peppery/seasoned" he just will not stop even if we are at other peoples homes. I have said over and over that it is considered rude to doso but he refuses to change. Yet he has the nerve to complain if something is then too peppery or salty. I no longer add more than a pinch of salt to my cooking for health reasons but I do use fresh, home grown herbs and a splash or two of wine. He has full plates of dentures and used to be a 20 a day smoker so I do wonder if that could affect his sense of taste. His sense of smell has always been poor too. He has trouble detecting cinnamon in a pudding or coconut & vanilla in a cake. Takes a lot of the pleasure out of cooking/baking frankly.

I only use salt in breadmaking.
I enjoy the natural sweetness of most vegetables when cooked (especially roasted) without salt.
The only salty food that I like is Marmite - it's very salty.

Paddy Anne, agreed anyone us welcome to add salt, but surely they should taste it first ?

I cannot abide snobs ,not food snobs or wine snobs or book snobs or any other kind.If I pay any chef for food I expect to be able to adjust it to suit ME.He may know the recipe but not my taste.
If I had been Joan Collins I'd have told Gordon Ramsay that ,hes a vile man anyway .Too far "up himself" as my GS would say .
Oh and just for the record I went back to college in my 30's ,part time, and got my City and Guilds in professional cookery and there is no way I would ever ask any guest to eat what I gave them ...without seasoning or leave .Sillynanny I think you'll find that seasoning during cooking is the way EVERY chef is taught ,but that shouldn't stop anyone salting food to suit .

I do taste my food before adding salt, if necessary. I have a thyroid problem and sometimes I need a bit more salt.

Eggs, avocado and tomatoes are the three things I can’t eat without salt. Thinking about it I can’t imagine rice, potatoes or pasta without a little salt in the cooking water.

Urmstongran

Always need salt on chips Lucca!
White pepper sprinkled into a boiled egg.
No point tasting either first - they just NEED it!

You seem to have ‘trained’ your men.
I’d have been up to the kitchen cupboard for my condiments.

In fact I didn’t have to “train” them they each realised it was daft to chuck salt on before tasting and had never thought of it like that.
I don’t understand those who say they don’t season while cooking ? So if you’re making a casserole for example you don’t season it ? So how come recipes say season with s and p ?
I agree an egg needs salt but never cook chips and I don’t salt them when eating out.

hallgreenmiss Wed 09-Sep-20 09:59:22
Spangler

When you have a very expensive set of Aga cruets, you show them off!

Ooooo get you ?

So glad you saw it as tongue in cheek. They just appeared one day. When I was told their price I had to top my wine glass up, nigh chocked on it.

My Aunt, who lived to 103, always plastered her food with salt without tasting first. Didn’t seem to do her any harm. I like a bit of salt on my food, depending what it is. DD1 never uses salt in cooking or has it on the table. I’ve eaten many a delicious but bland meal, desperate to add a little salt to bring out the taste
‘A little of what you fancy does you good’

I think we have to.leave behind all those etiquette laws now. Everything has gone out the window. I think that if people like salt and it makes their meal enjoyable then just let them do it. I don't think you should take it personally. I too reach for the salt but I don't add any while cooking.

Love salt and put it on all my dinners, pepper depending what it is. I do put it on before I’ve tasted the food.

Fennel that's brilliant, really very funny! I'll be singing "One Meatball" to the the GC next time we have them!

We stopped cooking with salt when the DDs were being weaned because they ate the same food as we did. I use a little salt when cooking potatoes but for nothing else. We don't have salt or pepper on the table unless a non-family person is here for a meal (a rare occurrence!)

I have heard chefs complain about adding salt before tasting the food.

ps @1.54

I like this old film where the poor man has his one meat ball but makes sure he has plenty of salt on it:
www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDli0qPwn4U8Y&v=li0qPwn4U8Y&feature=emb_rel_end

Roast potatoes and chips taste better with a light sprinkling of salt and I use it in bread making. Black pepper on the other hand I use rather a lot.

Always need salt on chips Lucca!
White pepper sprinkled into a boiled egg.
No point tasting either first - they just NEED it!

You seem to have ‘trained’ your men.
I’d have been up to the kitchen cupboard for my condiments.

My father used to chuck sprinkle so much salt and white pepper on his meals, before he'd even tasted it, that it made the poor unfortunate person sitting opposite him, convulse into paroxisms of sneezing. Possibly as a result of this, I very rarely season my food once cooked, apart from a little black pepper on the occassional pizza. And I detest salty food.

I steam all my veg, most of my fish . Always put a pinch or two of salt in steamer have done this after my first stint in kitchen with a Polish chef, he lobed things at everyone. I can't repeat his words of he saw a salt pot reached for before tasting . He could say words in about a dozen languages .He had me running to get something one day I fell ,told me that was a double lesson, never run in a kitchen, and always dry a floor after washing, bit of topic but reading this brought back very happy memories from half a century ago

Never cook with salt, not on the table but available if it's asked for. Personally I only put salt on chips or roast potatoes

I never salt anything which worked against me when I was given a date for my hip replacement op. Three times it was put off because my sodium levels were to low. I had to eat gammon steak, pasties and highly laden salt dishes to try and bring my levels up. I really dislike salt so it was a very unpleasant experience! I’m on blood pressure tablets as well but the doctors still insisted they would not do the op whilst my sodium was low. Perhaps that’s why I get dizzy at times as I soon reverted back to my no salt routine unless food prepared by either family or restaurants (and the occasional M&S meal ) had added it.

Witzend,

I lived for a while in Turkey and couldn’t understand why I was getting cramp in my sleep. Someone suggested I should eat a couple of salted biscuits daily. Bingo, the cramps went.

DH got sunstroke in Turkey. I remember my daughter’s friend had a bad case of Delhi belly whilst she was travelling. The doctor advised her to drink Coca-Cola. I remembered this and made DH drink Coca Cola. When the Turkish doctor arrived he told me that DH would have been hospitalised had I not made him drink C-C. Apparently it has just the right balance of salt and sugar for rehydration.

I rarely add salt to anything except eggs.