S and P or not

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.

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

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 .

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

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.

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

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.

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.

When I have visitors for a meal I would always have s&p on the table and it wouldn’t offend me in the slightest if it was used. I wouldn’t assume because I seasoned food when cooking that it was to everyone’s taste. Surely if I’ve seasoned it I’ve done it to my taste and we can’t all be the same.

I was going to say that I can't be doing with all these 'rules' that serve no purpose, but I must admit to feeling slightly miffed with ketchup being slathered over a roast.

My mother salted everything she cooked - potatoes, vegetables, cakes and pastry. There was always salt and pepper on the table too.
I rarely use salt as it’s bad for us but I crave salt and sugar because I’ve lost most of my sense of smell and taste. I wonder whether past generations liked their food so salty because they all smoked?

i use sea salt and i rinse the veg in sea salt water .but i would never sprinkle it on my food ,theres enough salt in the food we eat anyway. even fish and chips i dont use salt...takes the yummy taste away...

I’m guilty! Add salt to my food without tasting it. This is the first I’ve heard that I am likely to offend the cook. Currently using Himalayan salt as it was in Poundland so I bought half a dozen. I also shake the black pepper grinder over the food without grinding because I only want a tiny bit.

We’ve eaten out twice recently where lots of black pepper is put on before the food is served. I had to send one meal back as it was inedible. I think this is done to cut out the salt but I wish they didn’t decide for me.

As others have already said, we all have different taste buds so best left to the individuals decision without passing judgment.

My dad used to cover all his food with a carpet of salt and pepper without tasting it first. My mum was a wonderful cook and I felt he was insulting her every time... I only use pepper and then only on a poached egg which I have to have served on toast. Why do most B & B's serve eggs straight onto the plate, even on 4 in a Bed...?

Probably because people complain if they serve it on toast, I'd imagine.

I salt everything I do use ‘lo salt’ though I love my spices hot peppers and chillis etc and seem to need them stronger as I ve got older

I’m on a low sodium diet so no, but I do use pepper and other spices. I’m an avid reader of labels, but I don’t avoid salt completely as that would be unhealthy.

BlueBelle, beware pottasium chloride. Extra potassium can be dangerous for people who have kidney disease or take certain drugs for heart disease, high blood pressure, or liver disease. They should talk with a doctor before using a salt substitute.

I don't use much salt, but I'm aware that a very low salt diet is just as dangerous as a high salt one. I do love black pepper, though!

I don't often season my food with salt (nor add very much in the actual cooking, either), but I do like to put some on chips when I have any - which isn't very often.
I think there's quite a lot of salt in some ingredients anyway, without adding more, e.g., canned tomatoes, ready made sauces, cured meats.
I do like to add ground pepper though to some of my meals.

Mr. S. is a terror, always puts a load of salt on before he's even tasted it. For more than 40 years I've been commenting on it but to no avail, maybe it's time I gave up.

Many moons ago a top chef told me you can judge a restaurant by the number of condiments available. Really top restaurants don't put anything on the table at all. Once - in an eatery in the USA I counted 43 different sachets of sauces, etc arranged prettily down the middle of the "restaurant". The food was dire. I can understand why differing tastes may want to add a bit of extra salt or pepper maybe, but 43 choices seemed excessive!

I do always put S&P on the table.
I often add a lot of black pepper to whatever I’m eating, even though I’ve nearly always cooked it. And often a little salt.
Dh never adds either. He never uses e.g. mustard, either.

People’s taste buds do vary*, so I really don’t go along with it being an insult to the cook.
*milk in tea honestly tastes utterly vile to me, which I know most people consider very peculiar, so I’d never presume to tell anyone else what tastes they ought to like.

I am not much of a salt user but always use pepper, black or white depending on what it is.

Yes, but I rarely use salt in cooking unless I'm making a sauce or an egg dish.

We watched Rick Stein the other day - he always uses a lot of salt when he's cooking. Then adds a bit more.

We do need some salt in our diet especially in hot weather.