To wonder why no one seasons food anymore

I remember when the salt ban was put in place at the school I taught in. I had to hide a secret salt pot in the store cupboard so I could add some to my lunches. Other staff got to know I had it and sometimes crept into my classroom while I was on lunch to sneak some forbidden salt, I always wondered what the kids thought we were up to, maybe dealing drugs or something!

I don’t really like salt that much so use just a little whilst cooking and rarely add it once a meal is served. I like lots of pepper though.

My dad won’t even entertain the idea of tasting something before liberally showering it in salt and pepper. I think there is a generational element to it.

I don't, because I want my food to taste of that particular meat/ veg etc instead of tasting like salt. You can always add at the table.
I am 56 BTW.

The older people in my family, 60+, seem to add salt to everything and rely heavily on in when cooking. I rarely use it as I don’t like the taste, and prefer other methods of seasoning. If you can’t make food tasty without salt, you’re not a great cook.

I haven't used salt when I'm cooking for a couple of decades.

I add herbs or spices to give flavour and sometimes use soy sauce which is already salty.

If I want salt, I add it to the food on my plate but that's only for chips or to dip radishes or spring onions into. I don't think I have it with anything else.

The human liking for salt derives from a fundamental biological need. But I don’t really understand why pepper is put up there with it as king and queen. Using “seasoning” to mean salt and pepper feels a bit old fashioned? Disclaimer - I don’t cook meat. Some dishes I add lots of pepper, sure, but I might use chilli / mustard / cumin / herbs / lemon juice / smoked paprika etc etc, instead.
I add salt to the water as an essential when I’m cooking pasta, rice, lentils, and probably potatoes although I don’t think nice new potatoes really need it.
But I don’t add salt to a lot of things that other people might. For example if I’m having pasta with tomato sauce I don’t add salt to it - it will be served with loads of salty Parmesan anyway!

Same here. DH had been using lo-salt for a couple of decades but was told that we should be using ordinary. So fine seasalt for us.

Did you really criticise the cooking that someone else - whom you weren't paying - had done for you?

Seasoning issues aside, I thought it was meant to be the height of bad manners to do that, especially when you can so easily add salt and pepper at the table.

My mum doesn't season food much. It isn't how I cook, but it'd be bloody rude to tell her that she should be cooking differently, surely?

You can season your food without adding salt to it. Herbs, spices, flavoured butters, stuffing with vegetables or using rubs etc.

MSG makes meat taste better than salt and has lower sodium levels 😉

If you like salt, use salt. Pepper even.

Hope that is helpful.

I hate food that is cooked without salt it tastes so bland to me and adding it at the table just isn't the same imo. 2 of the healthiest people I know The Happy Pear even advise adding salt when cooking cos it brings out the flavor especially if you're sauteeing veg (these guys are vegan). Vegan and vegetarian food tastes so much better to me now I've started adding a pinch of salt as I go along. My sister adds salt to nothing even pasta water or boiled potatoes. I find it so bland but she's used to it now I guess . I know too much salt is bad but i think a pinch here and there brings out flavor . All the best chefs season?

I don't think anyone on the thread is saying that they only flavour meat with salt and pepper, nothing else!! So all the people pointing out that there are a million other herbs, spices, etc, can stand down. It's just a linguistic convention in loads of recipes to use the term 'seasoning' specifically for salt and pepper, though plenty of people use the term to refer to the wider range of seasoning options.

Yeah it's the health thing for me.

My DH seasons everything, I season very very little. It's a bone of contention and he gets the salt out every meal. He's currently got high BP and has to reduce salt in his diet.

I honestly am not that bothered about seasoning daily home cooked food. It has other stuff like herbs, spices, cheese to add flavour. But I do definitely enjoy a properly seasoned steak when I'm out. So can see why people do it. It's just not that healthy.

Kosher salt is just what Americans call cooking salt - ie coarser than table salt. So both large crystal rock salt or sea salt could be so described.

I’ve heard some Brits describing it as ‘kosher salt’ presumably from reading American recipes online. Similar to ‘apple cider vinegar’ (which makes me irrationally gross for some reason).

But you can “season” (I.e. add flavour) to food in hundreds of ways without always adding salt and pepper. As others have pointed out, if you get used to eating really salty food then your taste buds become desensitised.

Anyone ever tried salt-crusted chicken? You cook the chicken packed in salt. Not sure where it originates but there's a French version and a Hakka version of the dish.

It's surprisingly unsalty. Worth a go if you're not afraid of the salt...

Kosher salt is sea salt. It is just an Americanism that has been spread by social media.

I’ve had high blood pressure and understand rhe issues the health issues that salt causes. It doesn’t make me a health nut, just educated,

I certainly don't use as much salt as my mum did, I can't over salt the food as the kids are having it.
Granted, you need some salt but not the amount my mum used!

Really, cringe? What are you 15?

I mean they obviously don't know though because loads of people are saying they don't use salt because it makes everything taste salty. Used correctly that's not what it does. So yeah, I'd say on the whole a lot of people don't understand the purpose of salt. If pointing that out makes me superior then oh well.

Bingo!

People are health nuts. I agree it is annoying and leads to very bland food. Food needs to be properly seasoned.

I definitely season meat before cooking as I use the meat juices to make gravy. If they're tasteless, it's a harder job to get the gravy to taste good!

Most people I know I have salt and pepper on their tables. I don't think seasoning has gone out of fashion at all.

That’s literally the basis for a good steak along with high heat. So yes, people are doing that.

https://thehawksmoor.com/news/how-to-cook-the-perfect-steak/