to think putting salt on your food before you taste it is rude?

[KirjavaTheCat]

FIL comes to stay every couple of months and this is a habit of his. I cook, I place the meal in front of everyone at the table and before we've all picked up our knives and forks he's shaking salt onto his food.

He hasn't tasted it, he doesn't know if the seasoning is to his taste or not, he just goes ahead and does it.

On Saturday I made everyone cheese and pepperoni omelettes for breakfast. As he went to pick up the salt I stopped him and said, 'you should try it first, pepperoni tends to be quite salty' so he tried it, and lo and behold he didn't want any.

He's wasted food before, declaring he couldn't eat anymore because it was a bit salty. After he'd shaken a load on before tasting it

AIBU to find this really rude?

My pil do this and once shoved loads of salt on sweet and sour before saying they didn't like it. Maybe they don't like sweet and sour but I can't imagine the salt helped. How do you know how to season something before tasting? I don't take offence now (but it did really knock my confidence when I was younger when it came to cooking for them). Now I just think they're a bit weird.

It's rude to complain about the food.

It's rude to not thank the cook.

It's rude to pinch too many roast potatoes.

It's not rude to add salt, pepper, chilli, mayo, olive oil, vinegar, herbs, cheese, whatever, if you have put it on the table as a condiment. It doesn't matter if they add it before, during or after.

Surely if it's rude to salt before tasting as that's saying the cook hasn't seasoned enough putting it on after tastings confirming the cook hasn't seasoned enough. I am an adult and enjoy salty food. I was once out for lunch with colleagues and salted my food and found it rude when my collrafue said 'you just seasoned that without bothering to taste it' my reply 'oh and that affects you how exactly?'

Blimey sorry about typos

To be really polite, if you know someone has this habit you should slightly underseason their food so it will be just right for them when they add salt.

Is it rude to add cream to a desert before you know how dry it is?

Is it rude to add milk to a coffee before you know how strong it is?

Whilst we are on the subject of salt,I got some black salt the other day because I liked the way it looked.

What an I meant to put it on?

I had no idea that so many people added salt to their food before tasting it. DH and I saw a man at the table next to us in a restaurant do it once, and he actually did pour it over, not just shake it, he sat for about twenty seconds with the salt cellar upside down and the salt was gathering in piles on his plate (the tables were very close together and we were able to see him very clearly) and then when he started eating, he must have decided that he hadn't actually salted it enough and he did it all over again. I think he is the only person I have ever noticed putting salt on their food without tasting it first.

Anyway, back to the original question. I think it probably would grate with me actually. Not that someone might want to add salt to something I have cooked, that bit is fine, it would just be the fact that they are assuming that I haven't bothered seasoning it that would frustrate me. I actually quite like the taste of salt, so I do use salt when I'm cooking.

That made it sound like DH and I spent our entire meal analysing another diner's salting habits but we just couldn't miss it.

Still, it was his dinner, it's not like he was asking us to eat it that way.

Depends who is cooking.
My mother uses no seasoning, pepper or stock in her cooking so I know I always have to salt it before I even taste it.

Salt is addictive, so chances are it's become habit and his body thinks it needs it, he probably doesn't even notice he's doing it. In winter we sweat less so need less, especially if he's less active and getting older, he's probably eating too much salt.

Personally I think it's up to the individual though. It might be considered even ruder to load it on after you've tasted the food.

There are 3 foods I add salt to without tasting. Roast potatoes, chips (except fast food ones) and chicken skin. Because I know I like those things extra salty AND it's nicer if you add salt when they are as hot as possible.

Believing another persons behaviour is rude when it has no effect on you whatsoever is pretty silly.

Question- a few people have said they never salt their food, how is that any different in the assumption of knowing your own tastebuds than always salting your food?
You know you're own palate. Well, so do I.

YABU
That makes no sense.
Why would it be rude?
I find it rude that ppl insist on telling ppl to taste their food first. They have to eat it. Not you. and if they salt it after tasting then they're demonstrating that it needed more salt. How is that less rude than doing it before?
Neither is rude imo

I honestly never learnt about salt... as in hardly ever use it! Do some people really have it on everything? What does it do? Doesn't it just make it taste, well, salty?

I love salt and vinegar crisps and naturally salty things... but cant imagine just starting to throw salt over everything...

And "seasoning". Does it mean you're actually supposed to... (i follow recipes so may well add salt if it explicitly told me too..)

help a novice cook....

Amazing how many people are still missing THE POINT - which is that FIL often OVERSALTS his food because of not tasting it first and then REFUSES TO EAT IT BECAUSE IT'S TOO SALTY.

It's NOT about his tastebuds, because he's oversalted it. It then has to go IN THE BIN because no one can eat it.

I don't need to read the full thread because I know for sure that it's an insult to the cook to salt before tasting.

You might know that you'll want some more salt, but how the fuck do you know how much more by sight alone?

Have some fucking respect, basically. That or have a Pot Noodle alone in your own bedsit.

Yes. To not taste it before salting after you have spent time cooking it? Yes, it is rude. Simple solution though, do not leave the salt on the table. Make them ask for it.

It is rude (and, of course, stupid). My dh does it (he's got no manners either!). It used to drive me nuts, but I can't stop him doing it so I decided it was his problem. He lathers on pepper too. He is far too stubborn to ever suggest his food has too much seasoning. But as well as having no manners, he can be a right twat sometimes

Any decent cook or hostess will season to the lowest common denominator, obviously. So someone with a sweet tooth would add sugar, someone who likes salt (and many do) would add salt, and so on.

Only a food Nazi would hover over them with the AIBU-Stick at the ready

You can't do that if you've got intrinsically salty ingredients like the peperoni in the OP's omelette though.

Less rude, more it looks silly, uncouth.

Unless it's, say, a tinned soup you've had several times that you'll know I'm advance will need seasoning.

Maybe the problem would be solved by not putting salt on the table.

If there is salt on the table I will season it as and when I feel like it. If I have over salted something that is my problem and I would not expect anyone to fix the problem for me.

For me, table related rudeness is mouths open when eating, making yummy noises, making negative comments about the food or not thanking the host for the food.

You utter rebel Eat onto the naughty step with you