For a while, I was a salt hater.

Not once as a child did I reach for the saltshaker off the table and upon meeting Cat in college, my lack of salt love was confirmed (or so I thought).  I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone use salt more liberally than her. I’m pretty sure she salts her pizza and wouldn’t be surprised if I caught her salting her coffee.

I understood that salt is one of the five tastes (or six if you count fat) and obviously adds a unique taste to food, but it wasn’t until one of my first cooking classes that I learned the true power of salt and transformed into a salt lover.

What I came to realize was that I was looking at salt all wrong.  Salt at its fullest potential (with the exception of French fries!) should not be an afterthought when cooking.  Instead, it should be used before and throughout the cooking process.

So, why should you be looking at salt differently too?  Well, it makes food shine.

When added to water used for boiling vegetables it can make the vegetables taste bright and enhance their natural flavors.  And don’t worry about your vegetables soaking up the salt.  Most vegetables are so water dense that little if any salt will penetrate through the skin.  To properly use salt, you aren’t going for the salty flavor but rather using it to enhance whatever you are making.

Salt also should be applied liberally to your meat.  Once thought to draw out moisture, salt can actually keep meat more juicy and tender than left on its own.  Salt the meat a few days in advance and be prepared to for the juiciest most succulent bite of your life.  If you are still on the fence and not sure if its worth salting days in advance, read this article to find out when its worth going the extra mile.

Before you start salting everything in sight, make sure you pay attention to what kind of salt you are using.   A pinch of sea salt goes a lot further flavor wise than table salt.  If you want to get creative try truffle or pink salt.  Each adds a unique flavor to your final dish.  I personally swear on the combination of pink salt and brussel sprouts!

Moral of the story – move the salt shaker from the dining table to the kitchen!