To wonder why no one seasons food anymore

[heydiddlysquat]

Visiting my daughter for lunch - cooking a roast. I remarked that she hadn't added any salt and pepper to the meat before cooking. She looked at me as if I was mad and said of course not - salt is bad for you.

I'm in my 60's and growing up all meat was seasoned before cooking (no other way of doing it) and of course people could add more afterwards to suit their taste.

But it seems everyone wants their food to be unseasoned (tasteless) nowadays.

Or am I out of touch?

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.

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!

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 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 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.

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 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!

Yep. Salt is important for our bodies, not enough is also bad. Medical advice is to reduce not to quit.
Btw. on hot day I would totally go for salt as we sweat a lot and our organism have problems with keeping and taking water in.

If you can’t make food tasty without salt, you’re not a great cook.

I can’t think of many chefs who wouldn’t use salt!

My MIL also does not add any salt to anything these days, but some foods do need it. Good news though that people, especially kids, are getting used to not having additional salt.

Funny that! Chefs add salt when cooking, people in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, known for their cuisines, unlike the Brits who are famous for poor cooking skills, all add salt when cooking, and you think that if you can't cook without salt you're a bad cook???

Salt is not bad for you. Too much salt is bad for you. You are likely to be eating too much salt if you eat lots of processed foods which can have ridiculous amounts of salt added. Seasoning your food will not equate to you eating too much salt.

I season most food. As do most people I know.

We don't add salt to cooking water for veg or rice etc. but I would season most meat when cooking and I add salt to most one pot recipes for example.

We don't generally add salt at the table unless it's roast potatoes 😀

Salt cases strokes & I loathe the taste of pepper.

I don't add much salt at all. Its not necessary. Your palate very rapidly adjusts to not having it and food with lots added just tastes awfully salty.

Not to mention its already there if you've got anything like gravy using granules, a sauce with a stock cube etc

The history of adding a lot of salt and pepper was to preserve meat when refridgeration wasn't an option, but also to hide if something was somewhat on the turn!

Most people will get plenty of salt in their diet without adding it as seasoning to meat. Home made bread & better will contain some, most people occasionally eat preserved meats which have a lot of it. Its in condiments as well and most ready made foods have quite a bit.

Ugh I can't stand unseasoned food, it just tastes depressing, although I'd never tell the cook that. I suppose some people do genuinely enjoy unseasoned food and think its lovely, but I can't. My mother is in particular really odd about it. She doesn't season anything. Doesn't use salt in her pasta water, likes to serve up slices of carrots boiled in plain water and no other flavourings. Yet she absolutely loves salt at the dinner table and plasters all her food in it. So she'll serve up dry, dessicated unseasoned roast beef for example, and then smother it in salt. I don't know why she doesn't season as she cooks instead of dumping half the Dead Sea on her plate at the end. Food is much tastier if it's seasoned as you cook and then only a little bit of salt added at the end to adjust for individual preferences. I always season as I cook, err on making things a tad under seasoned and then add the right amount of salt at the end to finish it off to make sure I don't accidentally over salt the dish

My personal pet peeves are unsalted tomatoes in any capacity. Tomatoes taste so much better with a pinch of salt

Mine too. I never season during cooking as I absolutely loathe salt & pepper. If it's too bland for people, tough! Add your own seasoning to suit your own taste.

I always thought that when you add more salt at the table, you end up adding more. I'd probably use a pinch of salt at the table but if I was cooking, I wouldn't use that much more across a whole meal.

Going to admit to being a house full of salt lovers here, but my family all seem to have genetically low blood pressure. I tried going on a low salt diet years ago and felt like I was about to pass out.

This.

I think having to have loads of salt on everything is a habit that you begin to think you need as your sense of taste gets dulled over the years. You get used to no longer over salting everything and you can taste the food much better.

No decent cook or chef would not use seasonings.

Why add salt. I'm with your daughter and tbh I don't know anyone who adds salt now. Yabu.

I don’t season meat before cooking - unless you count brushing a chicken with garlic butter before putting it in the oven.

I do often add salt and pepper to my own food at the table, though.

But a roast chicken, spuds and plain steamed/boiled/roasted veg with no salt added would be flavourless.
Rubbish. That's exactly what I just ate. It tasted of chicken, potatoes and veg. Not tasting salty doesn't make it flavourless. It was delicious.

I remember someone on MN once asking why the dishes she made so carefully at home, never tasted as good as exactly the same at a restaurant.

As someone replied, ‘Butter and salt’.