Seasoning With Salt The Right Way
Salt is the most powerful tool in your kitchen. Used right, it brings food to life. It sharpens flavors, balances sweetness, and cuts bitterness.
But seasoning with salt isn’t just about sprinkling it on at the end. It’s about timing, technique, and understanding how it works.
You don’t need fancy gadgets to season well—just awareness and practice. Salt meat before it hits the pan. Taste as you cook. Add a pinch, stir, and wait. Watch what happens. You’ll learn how flavors change and deepen.
There’s a rhythm to seasoning. Vegetables need less than meat. Soups love salt added slowly. Pasta water should taste like the sea. These small choices add up to big flavor.
In this post, I’ll explore how and when to salt. You’ll learn why it matters, which salt to use, and how to avoid overdoing it. Whether you’re cooking eggs or a roast, these tips will help you get it just right.
No more bland meals. No more guessing. Just clear, useful advice you can put to work right away. Let’s salt with purpose—and make every bite count.
When & How To Salt Foods
| Food | When to Salt | How to Salt | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meat (Steak, Chicken, Pork) | At least 30 minutes to 24 hours before cooking | Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt and refrigerate | Draws moisture out and then reabsorbs it, seasoning deeply and improving texture |
| Vegetables (Roasted or Sautéed) | Just before or during cooking | Toss or sprinkle lightly and adjust to taste | Helps draw out moisture, enhances natural sweetness, and builds flavor |
| Soups and Stews | In layers—early, mid, and end of cooking | Add in small amounts, taste and adjust throughout | Develops depth, prevents overseasoning, and balances other flavors |
| Pasta Water | Before boiling begins | Add 1–2 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water | Seasons pasta from the inside, which can’t be done after cooking |
| Eggs (Scrambled, Omelets) | Right before cooking or while whisking | Add salt to beaten eggs and mix well | Helps retain moisture and improves texture and taste |
| Salads | Just before serving | Sprinkle lightly over dressed greens | Heightens flavor without wilting delicate leaves |
| Baked Goods (Bread, Cakes) | During mixing, as directed by recipe | Measure carefully and incorporate evenly | Balances sweetness and strengthens gluten structure in doughs |
Developing Your Tastes To Season With Salt
Developing your taste for seasoning with salt is about paying close attention, tasting often, and learning how salt interacts with different ingredients. Here’s how to build that instinct:
1. Taste As You Cook
Train your palate by tasting before, during, and after salting. Notice how salt changes the flavor. Does it brighten it? Dull it? Add a pinch, stir, wait a few seconds, then taste again.
2. Use Small Increments
Start light. It’s easier to add more than fix over-salting. Add a pinch at a time and notice what each one does.
3. Try Blind Tasting
Salt the same food (like cooked rice, boiled potatoes, or soup) to different levels—one under, one just right, and one over-salted. Taste each. This teaches you what balanced seasoning feels like on your tongue.
4. Cook Simple Foods
Practice on eggs, roasted vegetables, or soups. These highlight salt’s effect without too many other flavors in the way.
5. Use the Right Salt
Use kosher or sea salt for most cooking. Table salt is finer and salts faster, making it harder to control.
6. Understand Ingredient Behavior
Watery foods need less salt. Fatty or starchy ones need more. Acid and heat also influence how much salt you need.
The more you taste and adjust, the more confident and intuitive you’ll become.
Different Salts for Different Foods
| Type of Salt | Best For | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Kosher Salt | Everyday cooking, especially meats and savory dishes | Flaky grains are easy to control and sprinkle evenly; dissolves well without overpowering |
| Sea Salt | Finishing dishes, salads, roasted vegetables, seafood | Contains trace minerals that enhance flavor; comes in fine or flaky forms for texture |
| Table Salt | Baking, or when precise measurement is needed | Fine grain dissolves quickly; ideal for doughs and batters, though often contains additives |
| Himalayan Pink Salt | Finishing dishes or adding visual appeal | Contains trace minerals and has a striking appearance; subtle flavor difference |
| Flavored or Smoked Salts | Finishing grilled meats, eggs, vegetables | Adds smoky, herbal, or umami flavors without extra ingredients |
What If I Add Too Much Salt?
If you season and taste as you go, this should not be a problem. I should note that if you add a canned or boxed broth or stock to your dish or if you are going to reduce (cook down) a salted liquid, have a very light touch with the salt and make sure to taste your food after you have reduced it. Reducing a liquid increases the salt concentration in your liquid, so tread lightly here.
If you end up with a dish that is too salty, there are a couple of things you can do to help fix it. Add some water, wine, or other non-salty liquid to help decrease the salt concentration.
If you’re making a stew or a soup, add a couple of cut-up potatoes and let simmer. Through osmosis, some of the salt will end up in the potato and not in your soup. Then, remove the potato, and you should be good to go.
Once, I had to rescue overly salted mashed potatoes. I removed some of the salty mash and set it aside. Then, I cooked a couple more potatoes in unsalted water, mashed them, and added them to the original dish. Dish: rescued!
Another way to inadvertently add too much salt to a dish is to try substituting table salt for kosher salt. Table salt, which many people still use for seasoning during cooking, is made of very fine grains and packs down pretty tightly.
Kosher salt has larger, flakier crystals and does not pack down. As a result, one teaspoon of table salt contains more salt by weight than one teaspoon of kosher salt. If the recipe specifically calls for kosher salt, use it. If you don’t have kosher salt, start with half the amount called for of table salt and then season to taste from there.
Regarding Salt
Salt is an electrolyte in the body and plays a vital role in cell function. It is essential: no salt equals death.
While not using enough salt in our cooking won’t kill us, salt is the most important and universally applicable spice. Technically, salt is not a spice; it is a mineral. Salt is the only rock that we eat.
And not just people – all animals are drawn to salt. There must be something hard-wired into us that seeks out salt because of its vital role in our chemistry. And, just as poisons are bitter to reduce the likelihood of accidental ingestion, salt is tasty, and we seek it out.
Coincidentally—or most likely not coincidentally—bitter and salty are two of the main flavors that we can taste. We recognize bitterness, so we can avoid it, and salt, so we can eat more of it. Pass the chips, please.
One of novice cooks’ most common mistakes is not using enough salt. I know that can be dangerous in this day and age where there is such a push for low-sodium options, but the problem is that salt, and a ton of it, can be found in almost all processed foods.
If you don’t believe me, check the labels and the sodium content. Avoiding processed foods and using salt appropriately allows us to enjoy great-tasting foods without blowing our sodium intake.
Remember, if you make a cake and add one teaspoon of salt to the batter, that might sound like a lot, but you’ll be cutting that cake into sixteen to twenty pieces, so each piece will only contain 1/20-1/16th teaspoon of salt. That’s roughly 120-150mg of added sodium per slice, considering that some ingredients contain sodium naturally.
Compare that to 1170mg sodium in 100g of cornflakes, 520mg in a McDonald’s hamburger, or 2456.2 mg in Outback’s dressed baked potato!*
While I am not a nutritionist, arguing with numbers like that is hard. Stay away from processed foods, only splurge occasionally at restaurants, and cook for yourself and your family. This seems to be a reasonable recipe for lowering sodium intake.
3 Responses
I just stumbled unto your site and am enjoying it a lot. Thanks!
One way eateries fail on oversalting is buying seasoning blends from purveyors and not taking the time to make their own. I am pointing at Blackened and Jerk seasonings as the shining example here. The first thing on the ingredient list is Salt. In the real world Salt doesn’t even enter the equation. I once sent back my Blackened Salmon at a place for tasting like a Salt lick. The server made a snide remark about if I don’t like Blackened I shouldn’t order it! Questioning the kitchen we learned they use Sysco seasoning. #1 on the box listed was Salt. Chef was not aware and said he would start making his own.
Thanks for pointing this out Bob.
I enjoyed perusing your pages on seasoning. They confirmed much of what I already know but also conveyed some information I was not aware of. Thanx!