Does salt reduce bitterness?
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momo (
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)
January 16th, 2007
Does using salt in recipes reduce bitterness and therefore enhance other flavors?
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11 Answers
don't think so. salt brings out any other flavor in a dish.
it stimulates your tastebuds - taste with no smell.
no
I beg to differ. In some dishes, salt can reduce bitterness by chemically interacting with other substances in the food. In other dishes, salt can overwhelm the bitter, sweet or other taste "notes" and in essence distract you from the other tastes, although this usually involves an excess of salt.
Remember that experiment in HS science?You were supposed to chew slowly, for a long time, on a saltine until the flavor sweetened. I was never successful since I had a swallowing mechanism that kicked in, but I am told that it works. (I can't float, either, even in salt water. Related issue?)
the saltine trick works b/c the starchy cracker is converted into simple sugars by the digestive enzymes in your mouth. the salt is incidental.
So why can't I float? (I am a normal sized-woman, w. a big frame.
hossman: i agree that salt can mask bitterness, but can you give an example of a bitter food which is chemically un-bittered by salt?
gailcalled: you can't float? take a deep breath and lie face down, very still, in the water. failing that, go visit the dead sea. i *guarantee* you'll float.
Big yuck. I should have said that I can't float face-up in fresh water..Not scared of water since I swim laps...and floating face down has certain time restrictions. I see people bobbing along in lakes and ponds, staring at the sky, and moving no appendages. My feet fall so, if I scull, I can float vertically. Is that considered a legit definition?
what does floating have to do with this??
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