How much salt to add when boiling veg?

[KeepTrying0]

I wondered if I could ask a question about adding salt to the water when vegetables are boiled?

I remember my Mum used to bung in what looked like about half a teaspoon of salt when she boiled rice or vegetables, and that was fine.

But she also told me that salt was really bad for people and caused heart attacks. We lived near Glasgow which had a reputation for being the heart attack centre for Europe at the time, so I took her words seriously. A recipe book at the time said I should never add salt to anything.

Then when I started cooking for myself I stopped adding salt to veg, but I never felt quite normal after that, even though I ate plenty of processed stuff, and certainly have enough salt in my diet (I've checked).

I wondered if I could ask what other people do?

Do you add salt to boiling veg and rice? Do you rinse the rice afterwards or just drain it?

I'm still totally confused and my Mum has dementia so I can't ask.

I'm also being tested by a cardiologist for something called dysautonomia, which is something to do with electrolyte imbalance, so really starting to wonder if my errant veg boiling habits are catching up with me.

Thanks!

btw I did try just adding salt to the water but it really disagrees with me now. I have no idea why because I can eat sausages just fine. #confused

Never added to boiled vegetables but put a pinch in with pasta

I have never added salt to veg but I do remember my nan and mum doing so. I will add some to potatos if I'm mashing them..

I think generally we eat more processed food with added salt these days so it's not necessary to add it again.

Salt has been debunked over and over. We literally die without it.

It’s really to taste and individual needs. I have thyroid and adrenal issues so I always use more salt in my own food than others as my body needs more salt.

Edited to add that I don’t eat UPFs so have total control on my sodium intake.

I add a 'good shake' to a large pan of water which likely is a couple of teaspoons.

Most of it goes down the sink with the water so it's not like you're eating that much.

After years of not bothering and just adding to taste at the table, I find I much prefer the flavour of veg cooked in salted water and I doubt it makes much difference to sodium consumption (obv if I had a reason to limit it for someone I was serving I wouldn't add).

I don’t add any to the water but will often put salted butter on vegetables afterwards

The only vegetables I boil are green beans and potatoes, and I don't add salt to the water.

When I cook rice or pasta I do add salt to the water, 1 teaspoon for rice, two for pasta.

I steam cook broccoli and cauliflower and don't add any salt. I also braise, stir fry or oven roast a lot of vegetables and would add salt on these.
In soups, it depends of the soup. No salt in pumpkin-based soups, yes in the others.

Then, the pulses. I don't add salt when boiling chickpeas, but I cook my lentils in soffrittos or soups, and I will add salt to them.

I believe that in the UK, one of the most salted ingredient is bread, especially industrial bread bought in supermarket.

I'd just season the cooked food unless roasting veg and season on top.

I just salt afterwards, other than pasta which does need it (like bread needs it I guess?)

I add 1 teaspoon of rock salt to roughly 4ltrs of boiling water used for vegetables or potatoes.
You could try and add a vegetable stock cube to the water you boil veg in if salt makes you unwell.

For rice my favourite way is to bake it.
I soak a cup and a half of Basmati rice and rinse then pop it into an oiled casserole dish that has a lid, make it one level and add 1.25 litres of water that has 2 chicken stock cubes dissolved in it with a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and Saffron, microwave it for 3 mins so the liquid is boiling pour over so there's a put 1cm of liquid above the rice, 50g of unsalted butter cubed and placed over the rice, lid on and bake for 27 minutes at 180°C.
Take it out and fluff the rice with a fork, pop the lid back on for 10mins to steam and it's perfect.

(Some breakfast cereals are heavily salted too.)
I always add salt to the water when cooking pasta because most Italian cooks and chefs do so and I reckon they know more about it than I do.
I also salt potatoes but not Basmati rice. Home grown veg no. Shop bought sometimes.
Sorry it's not definitive but it's mostly all about your taste, so suck it and see!

A couple of twists of the salt thing per big pot of water for pasta, potatoes or veg.

DH has one of the types of high blood pressure for which low sodium is recommended so I don't add salt to much and certainly not to cooking water. In any case we steam a lot of veg.

I don't think it makes much difference, and I prefer to grind a bit of salt and pepper onto my food so the flavourings are separate highlights rather than everything being salty.

I don't add salt to boiled veg, there's enough salt in our food, but also I don't boil most veg as you lose the nutrients in the water. Steaming is better.

I always add salt to boiling potatoes and pasta. A fairly liberal amount. I don't add salt to rice, but I usually serve rice alongside well seasoned dishes, so enjoy the comparative blandness of the rice.

Other than peas (where I don't add salt) I don't boil any vegetables. I add salt and pepper when I roast them though.

None

Shake the packet of table salt over the saucepan - so prob less than a quarter of a teaspoon.

Glasgow is heart attack central due to high levels of deprivation leading to high smoking (cigarettes and other drugs), sedentary lifestyles and a diet focussed on cheap beige fried food not vegetables.

I don't think your boiling veg is anything to do with anything.

Plus dysautonomia usually means low BP - my cardiologist advised me to up my salt intake and have 2 teaspoons in a drink every morning. His first question was 'Do you think salt is bad for you?' before telling me I needed loads more salt.

I don't tend to boil veg but usually have some salted butter on them
Potatoes and pasta I am liberal with salt, pasta water should be sea water salty and mash sucks up salt!
For a recipe I taste as I go, if it has say marmite/bacon/stock I likely won't add extra but if it's a tomato and veg sauce then I will add some

I stopped salting the water when I had small DC but reintroduced it later when I decided it did make everything taste better. I would say I use a ‘pinch’ in boiled veg and rice, a bit more in pasta water. Nothing in steamed veg and a grind on roasted. We don’t add salt at the table at all though.

Never add to anything like rice, pasta or veg. Only if I'm cooking a sauce.

we use stock cubes instead of salt.
more flavour, less salt.

I stopped adding salt to veg when my kids are small and haven’t gone back. Salt is added by the individual to their food when it’s on the plate.

I like rather a lot of salt So I add a lot

I have a salt pig and put in a large pinch from that, it's probably about half a teaspoon

I probably add a quarter of a tsp to an inch or two of water in a saucepan for green veg. Half a tsp to pasta, rice or potatoes for which much more water is used. I always rinse rice (always brown) with boiling water once cooked.

I try not to eat processed food which is far more unhealthy than a dab of salt in veg water.

Usually I drain and reserve the veg water for gravy if we are having it.

Veg that grows above the ground goes straight into boiling water and as little as possible; veg that grows under the ground is covered in cold water that is brought to the boil.