How do you season your food when cooking?

[Thunderduck]

We use a lot of herbs and spices when cooking. I cannot bear bland cooked food.

I don't use a lot of salt, I don't really like it but I add everything I can to dinner when cooking it, so long as the spice/herb goes e.g onion salt, paprika,garlic,celery salt,coriander etc.

A friend says it's a bad idea to add so many spices to food, as it'll make me lose my liking of naturally flavoured foods. Is this true? Should I cut down on the seasoning?

Do any other MNs put half of the contents of their spice rack into their dishes when cooking?

I hate bland food but don't like salt either. I ues freshly ground black pepper and olive oil on pretty much everything. when cooking roast pots i just sprinkle on whatever i can find, caty hurt can it? I say go for it!

lol at all my typos

I season all my dishes with a little bit of love.

[boak]

there is some truth to what your friend says, in terms of some flavours - a friend of mine spent a lot of time in Thailand eating very hot and spicy food, and couldn't bear the blandness of food back in the UK. It's like his tastebuds needed much more stimulation than normal to react.

Someone I know used far too much salt on a daily basis, because she found food bland. It was suggested to her that she cut the salt right out, to give her tastebuds a chance to "re-set" and allow her to taste the natural taste of foods without the salt. It took about 2 weeks of her having to eat what she considered to be really bland food, but it cured her salt overdosing. She was able to use a normal amount of seasoning after that.

I don't like 'hot' food, and I can still enjoy natural flavours such as raw veg,and I actually enjoy kormas, but perhaps there is some truth that my palate will soon grow bored of natural flavours.

I'm sorry Thunderduck, but it sounds like your friend is gently trying to tell you that you're over-seasoning things.

Seasoning is there to bring out and complement natural flavours, but it does sounds as if you're adding too much and therefore masking the flavour.

She hasn't tried my food, not as I like it, if dp or I cook for her we make a separate portion for her, as she sees pepper as an exotic spice and won't touch it. She uses salt only.

I do think however that she may have a point about my tastebuds becoming used to spicy food though, but I don't see the pleasure in eating bland food.

Having said that, though, if you and your dp like the food that you cook then surely that's all that matters?

I think spicy (as in hot) is a different matter from over-seasoning though.

I love hot food, but those who don't will often say that the heat disguises the taste of the food itself - whereas that's not the case for me!

I thought onion salt and celery salt were just those things mixed with salt.

So you are putting salt in your food.

Aren't you?

oooh interesting idea thumbwitch. I am careful with the children?s food re over salting but DH and I are terrible at adding more to our own at the table. We eat loads of hot spicy food and wonder if we have over spiced over salted our taste buds too? The re-set idea sounds good, just not sure I am going to get DH to stay away from the salt mill for 2 weeks while his re-sets!

I'm not sure about the celery salt, but the onion salt, what we call it, is really onion powder.

I would use a pinch of salt when cooking, but no more and nothing when the food is served. It doesn't taste good enough for me to justify adding more.

if you use maldon, the taste is so amazing you find you add much less salt (gram for gram) than with other table salts or rock salts. i really recommend it. one box (think around 200g) lasts us about 5 months for 2 grown ups which is waaaay less than normal salt intake (i make every food from scratch and don't buy anything in a packet or ready meals)

I may try the Maldon salt then. I'm not very fond of the taste of salt, but if it tastes better than normal salt I'll give it a try.

Fair enough. Not this one then? My exMIL used to use it copiously - it will always remind me of her!

Just checked, the celery salt does contain salt. What we call onion salt is just onion powder. Either way they taste good.