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Do you have salt & pepper on the table?


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Old 04-02-2011, 10:31
indianwells
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I never do, I season as I cook and taste constantly. This way the seasoning can permeate the whole dish. If you add at the table you are flavouring just the surface of the food.

I stopped putting the salt & pepper pots on the table because I got fed up of people automatically sprinkling their food without even tasting it first. If someone asks for more salt or pepper I will happily get it for them, funnily enough no-one has yet.
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Old 04-02-2011, 10:33
missloo
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no - i get offended when people salt my food before tasting it! My parents do this all the time, but i think that is just what they are used to.

If i am crushing my potatoes on my plate, that is the main reason it would be on the table.
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Old 04-02-2011, 11:02
lorry
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Yes I do because I feel that everybody has their own taste and preferences and who am I to tell them they are wrong? In any case I try not to use a lot of salt in my cooking because I've found that however much I put in, my hubby adds more, so this way at least he's not overdoing it as much as he could be.
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Old 04-02-2011, 11:02
dosanjh1
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I can understand why people get offended by salting food at the table before trying it. Some people get offended by peppering food before trying it which I don't understand. Nobody could possibly have as much pepper in their cooked food as I like, as I go mental with it.
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Old 04-02-2011, 11:07
mirabelle
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No but thats only because we don't have any. We are pure naff in our house.

I don't add salt to food and the option isn't on the table. I find that salt makes all food taste the same but thats because of how I was brought up I guess
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Old 04-02-2011, 11:08
stud u like
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I don't like pepper but plenty of food has no taste so needs salt. Carrots are the worst offenders.
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Old 04-02-2011, 11:57
earthling13
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Yes because I use very little or no salt in my cooking and OH needs extra salt sometimes if he's been working hard and sweating. Black pepper is my vice. I agree that people shouldn't just put salt on their food without tasting it but I wouldn't be offended if they did. At least they have the option, I can't remove it from oversalted food.
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:19
angsla
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i used to have this problem years ago. my husband and my mother-in-law used to put salt on before tasting. i cured them i cooked two pans of potatoes and put normal amount of salt in one and over salted the other. they put extra on theirs and said "these potatoes are really salty. me and my children said theres nothing wrong with ours". i told them that was because they put extra salt in. they never did it again. they tasted first
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:24
RAINBOWGIRL22
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I too use very little salt (have even stopped adding it to pasta ) and never have it on the table.

The only things I use salt on are jacket spuds or chips and I tend to salt them before cooking (jacket spud) or before serving (chips)

I tend to also add pepper, if required, as I am cooking so there is no need for it at the table.

If I am cooking for anyone other than myself and OH, I always tell them I'll provide S&P if they want it...
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:30
elliecat
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I only put salt and pepper on the table if I am doing something like chips and then all the condiments go on the table anyway.
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:34
jmclaugh
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I always add salt and pepper in my cooking but I have it on the table anyway, the pepper grinder is used a fair bit, hardly ever salt unless it is chips or other foods to which salt has not been added.
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:37
earthling13
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I never do, I season as I cook and taste constantly. This way the seasoning can permeate the whole dish. If you add at the table you are flavouring just the surface of the food.

I stopped putting the salt & pepper pots on the table because I got fed up of people automatically sprinkling their food without even tasting it first. If someone asks for more salt or pepper I will happily get it for them, funnily enough no-one has yet.
Surely it's easier just to put them on the table and save someones embarassment by having to ask their host for something that they would take for granted? My MIL doesn't use any condiments at all apart from salt and pepper. No sauces, no dressings, no mustard, nothing. I hate eating there.
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:41
earthling13
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I don't like pepper but plenty of food has no taste so needs salt. Carrots are the worst offenders.
If you have a salt free diet as I did you would start to taste the real flavour of food again. When my diet was completely salt free I would walk past a McD's ( or similar) and all I could smell was salt and fat.
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:44
indianwells
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Surely it's easier just to put them on the table and save someones embarassment by having to ask their host for something that they would take for granted? My MIL doesn't use any condiments at all apart from salt and pepper. No sauces, no dressings, no mustard, nothing. I hate eating there.
Apart from family, I only ever cook for close friends and know they would have no qualms about asking for s&p if they wanted it. Anyway, I cooked, my rules!
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Old 04-02-2011, 12:51
Teddybleads
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Always. It hardly ever gets used but I like to offer as full a cruet as possible with any relish, sauce, chutney and seasoning that might be relevent to the meal, even if it's just me and Mrs. Bleads.
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Old 04-02-2011, 13:02
kimindex
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Yes, we do. I think we use too much salt. It's something to work on. We use Lo-Salt but even so.
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Old 04-02-2011, 13:24
PamelaL
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Like others on here it depends on what we're eating, if it's chips or baked potatoes I do.
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Old 04-02-2011, 14:00
Caramel Crunch
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It depends on what we are eating.
I always put it out for guests though.
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Old 04-02-2011, 14:48
serendipitea
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I bring salt and pepper to the table, partly because like books complete a room, I like them on a table especially if I'm entertaining, but I do warn people who haven't eaten with me before to try before seasoning, as just like most of you on this thread, I tend to season while cooking.

Incidentally, in today's Cookery School show on C4 we were informed that the 'correct' dosage of salt is 1g per 100ml of water. A curiously round number but anyway...

(And I don't usually cook water in case you all think I'm strange, it was just what the telly said).
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Old 04-02-2011, 21:45
SeasideLady
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Totally salt free cooking isn't right - you have to use a little to add flavour, any good cook will tell you that. Moderation is the key, and you have to know what needs quite a bit, and what needs hardly any. We use low sodium salt in cooking, and have salt and pepper mills on the table. I never add any salt to my plated meal because I know I've used enough in preparing it, but I sometimes grind a bit more pepper over at the start, especially on pasta and soups.
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Old 04-02-2011, 21:53
mrkite77
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Totally salt free cooking isn't right - you have to use a little to add flavour, any good cook will tell you that.
Most ingredients already have too much sodium as it is.

I can't even eat Prosciutto anymore, it's like a salt lick.
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Old 04-02-2011, 22:28
stud u like
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If you have a salt free diet as I did you would start to taste the real flavour of food again. When my diet was completely salt free I would walk past a McD's ( or similar) and all I could smell was salt and fat.
You need salt to live.
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Old 04-02-2011, 22:28
earthling13
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Apart from family, I only ever cook for close friends and know they would have no qualms about asking for s&p if they wanted it. Anyway, I cooked, my rules!
Ah, cooks privileges! I'm all for that.

Totally salt free cooking isn't right - you have to use a little to add flavour, any good cook will tell you that. Moderation is the key, and you have to know what needs quite a bit, and what needs hardly any. We use low sodium salt in cooking, and have salt and pepper mills on the table. I never add any salt to my plated meal because I know I've used enough in preparing it, but I sometimes grind a bit more pepper over at the start, especially on pasta and soups.
Sometimes health reasons demand it.
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Old 04-02-2011, 22:47
c4rv
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Totally salt free cooking isn't right - you have to use a little to add flavour, any good cook will tell you that. Moderation is the key, and you have to know what needs quite a bit, and what needs hardly any. We use low sodium salt in cooking, and have salt and pepper mills on the table. I never add any salt to my plated meal because I know I've used enough in preparing it, but I sometimes grind a bit more pepper over at the start, especially on pasta and soups.
We don't use much salt at home, when we go out to eat at resturants, it tastes over salted. You don't need that much salt. Its even worse in the USA.

Also if you put the salt in while you are cooking, you need a lot less.
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Old 04-02-2011, 22:51
diablo
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It is better to put the salt on after cooking - if it on the surface of the food you don't need as much to get the flavour. If it is in the food you need much more to get the same effect.
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