Why do you add salt?

[ChocolateCoins]

I used to add salt to most things while cooking. I mean veg, pasta, potatoes ect. But once I had DD I stopped, so she could eat what we were eating, and there is no difference in taste. Maybe I just wasnt using enough to make a difference? But I just wondered why people actually added salt to veg ect while cooking, is it just through habit, or can you actually taste the difference?

I hope that makes sense!

Never done it so don't know. Started cooking for the family at about 14 and couldn't see the point so have never done it. I do however par boil my potatoes in salted water before roasting but Delia told me to do it

Salt raises the boiling temperature of the water slightly which can help with some things. It doesn't make a difference to the taste though IMO.

I do add salt to sauces, soups and things like spaghetti bolognese, though, unless it's a sauce out of a jar meals usually need a bit of salt to bring the flavours out.

I definitely can taste the difference between veg/pasta that has been cooked in seasoned water or not. I don't add lots, just a good pinch. All tastes very bland to me if not seasoned. Sometimes I'll use a stock cube to season the water I cook veg in. It's boring enough if you just boil it, got to do something to help it along! Think I'd heave if I tried to eat my way through half a plate of plain boiled veg, but that's just my personal taste

I add it to tomato based sauces and bread doughs but that's about all. I think if a lot is used you can tell the difference, MIL uses a lot and thinks my food tastes bland while I think hers tastes like canteen food.

I can taste the difference, even though we don't use a lot of salt as a family. Left it out of my bread dough once and the end result tasted like nothing.

I don't add it in cooking but add quite a lot afterwards. Unsalted food tastes bland to me. Salt sort of perks it up.

Salt will not make a material difference to the boiling temperature unless you're putting absolutely masses in - the different ambient pressures you'll see will typically make more difference. To a litre of water you need to add 30 grams to get 0.5degree rise in temp, the difference between low and high pressure is more than that. Most people put a couple of grams at most.

The reason is for taste, starches are pretty good at absorbing the salt from the water.

I never do, but then I also steam all my veg, can never be bothered with a collander and you get to heat a lot less water.