Flavors
What percentage does aroma have on our overall flavor perception?
80 %
This type of salt is mostly recommended for use in cooking because it's easy to control the quantity of kosher salt, it adheres to food well and it dissolves fairly easily
Kosher Salt
True or False: When cooking things like pasta and potatoes, you should never add salt to the water before adding the food. Instead, add salt after it has started boiling.
False. For potatoes and pastas, the water should be salted before adding the food. Add a teaspoon of salt per quart of water.
What are the four flavors?
sweet, bitter, salty, and sour
What is the key for WHEN to add salt during cooking?
Add salt throughout the cooking process instead of at the end.
This type of salt is finely ground and may include an anti caking agent to prevent it from clumping together.
Table Salt
True or False: Adding salt to meat, fish, or poultry before cooking it can make it turn out too dry, since salt draws out the water.
False. Adding salt too soon in advance of cooking can prevent the meat from browning though.
True or False: Salt is the only spice that can bring out bitter, sweet, and savory flavors from whatever it is put on.
True
DOUBLE POINTS: How much salt is in a PINCH of salt?
about 1-1.5 teaspoons (how much you can grab when pinching all five fingers)
This salt type comes from evaporated sea water and contains some minerals like zinc, potassium, and iron
Sea Salt
DOUBLE POINTS: I am cooking with regular table salt instead of Kosher salt. Which of the following shows how much table salt I should add per unit (food, water) to equal the same amout of Kosher salt?
A. the same amount
B. 1/2 teaspoon less
C. 1 teaspoon more
D. 1/4 teaspoon less
B: 1/4 teaspoon less
What is the 5th taste?
Umami
What is the purpose of adding salt during cooking?
Not to make food taste like salt (salty) but to enhance the flavors that a food already has in it.
"The reason for salting foods is to intensify, develop, blend and balance flavors"
This type of salt is completely pure and free of any additives, minerals, anti-caking agents, or iodine. It's great for preserving food with.
Pickling salt
I want to steam some veggies. When should I add salt to them?
A. Immediately after cooking
B. Just before cooking
C. During cooking
A. Immediately after cooking
DOUBLE POINTS: Give an example of a food product that has a strong sense of the "5th taste".
Mushrooms, ketchup, soy sauce, oysters, miso, seaweed (and foods with MSG added as an ingredient).
Describe the technique for adding salt in a dish.
Use your fingers instead of a salt shaker. Hold it up about 6 inches over the dish and use fingers to sprinkle it evenly.
DOUBLE POINTS: This salt is processed with a method invovling various types of wood and takes at least two weeks to process.
What are the 6 "vital functions" of salt?
Preservative, binding agent, fermentation control, texture aid, color control, seasoning.