Salt?

[Tinknock50]

Good Luck. We will be doing the same on our cruise. It can be done - but just know that there is a lot of processed food offered on a cruise.

For sure it will be a challenge avoiding processed food. Fortunately my food plan allows for lot's of food consumption so I will never go hungry!

[draftxhorselover]

I would assume any person preference you have for your personal little bizarre food preference items (think seasalt, old bay spice, Ms. Dash' No salt Substitute, Sirracha sauce, vegemite paste, dirty martini mix, etc. ) should/would be something you consider packing carefully and tote your own! ;) I plan to do so.

 

JMHO

[bUU]

I agree. For me, it's powdered nonfat dairy creamer. Just don't pack it in little plastic bags.

[OlsSalt]

If nothing else, salt serves as yet another matter on which to base unnecessary conflicts.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

Rubbing salt into wounds is biblical.

 

"Historically speaking": And then there are those who will tell you that the early beginnings of the phrase come from the Bible. Jesus did not tell his disciples, “You are the sugar of the world.” He is credited as saying to them, “You are the salt of the earth.” Even back then in ancient times, doctors would sprinklewounds with saltin the hope of fighting off infection.

[draftxhorselover]

I agree. For me, it's powdered nonfat dairy creamer. Just don't pack it in little plastic bags.

;);)

[Gnoelj]

I agree. For me, it's powdered nonfat dairy creamer. Just don't pack it in little plastic bags.

 

Me too, I like powdered dairy creamer (it may be non-fat, but it certainly has almost as much calories as milk). I usually bring my own in a plastic container on the cruise. Trouble was, in the past, I kept leaving it on the restaurant table after the meal and left without taking it back with me!

[Mr. Boston]

This is a great read and details everything and anything you ever wondered about salt and it's history.

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[USN59-79]

I remember in 2014 and earlier in the Pinnacle Grill we used to be served three little dishes of salt. One was pink, one white and I think the third was either black or dark brown. This year it was not available.

[bUU]

I would expect over the years that many culinary fads have passed through the various restaurants.

 

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[navybankerteacher]

Pink salt from Pakistan is similar to Himalayan Salt which is reputed to contain the following trace minerals. The mind boggles at the amount of pink salt one would need to ingest to get any meaningful daily amounts of these alleged trace minerals:

 

...

.

 

At the risk of inciting the wrath of super-sensitive gourmets, I must question the current fashion for Pink or Himilayan or Mediterranean Sea salt (as opposed, I imagine, to the more plebeian Atlantic or Pacific variety).

 

While water (defined as a "colorless, odorless, TASTELESS liquid") obviously can be enhanced by the addition of miniscule trace elements; the same cannot be said for salt. Salt (plain sodium chloride) has such an overwhelming flavor that any trace element is highly unlikely to have a significantly discernible flavor impact. Beyond that, the amount of salt reasonably added to any food is itself going to be miniscule -- making any discernable Impact highly improbable.

 

Yes, designer salt lends a certain panache to upscale tables - but I am willing to wager that few of its advocates could pass any blind taste test.

[navybankerteacher]

Whether it's pink or white or gray...whatever..it's still sodium. It's all the same.

 

While I am inclined to agree that salt, whether Baleen or Morton's, is salt, I have to dispute your contention that it is still "sodium" -- which would have fatal effects if ingested.

[yj_eugene]

AWhile water (defined as a "colorless, odorless, TASTELESS liquid") obviously can be enhanced by the addition of miniscule trace elements; the same cannot be said for salt. Salt (plain sodium chloride) has such an overwhelming flavor that any trace element is highly unlikely to have a significantly discernible flavor impact. Beyond that, the amount of salt reasonably added to any food is itself going to be miniscule -- making any discernable Impact highly improbable.

 

Ask anyone who has tried the selection of salts offered at 150 Park Place on Royal Caribbean's Oasis class ships. There is a vast difference in the taste among them, and they certainly affect the flavor of the food to which they are added. To flatly state such is not possible shows either your limited experience or limited palate.

[navybankerteacher]

Ask anyone who has tried the selection of salts offered at 150 Park Place on Royal Caribbean's Oasis class ships. There is a vast difference in the taste among them, and they certainly affect the flavor of the food to which they are added. To flatly state such is not possible shows either your limited experience or limited palate.

 

How much salt do you put on your food?

 

I did not say that it was "not possible" for designer salts to "affect the flavor of the food"; I referred to "the amount of salt reasonably added to the food" ... "making any discernible impact highly improbable".

 

There is a wide difference between "highly improbable" and "not possible".

 

While you might be able to discern among samples of different salt - I repeat my wager that "...few of its advocates could pass any blind taste test", and given your demonstrated weakness at reading comprehension, I am not inclined to assume any great sensory perception on your part.

[slidergirl]

Third time might be the charm...

This has been an interesting discussion, and, for the most part, civil.

No foodie sensitivity offended here 😏

OP- I do hope that you can try Real Salt: "buy American".

 

Now, for me: 🤐

[POA1]

How much salt do you put on your food?

 

I did not say that it was "not possible" for designer salts to "affect the flavor of the food"; I referred to "the amount of salt reasonably added to the food" ... "making any discernible impact highly improbable".

 

There is a wide difference between "highly improbable" and "not possible".

 

While you might be able to discern among samples of different salt - I repeat my wager that "...few of its advocates could pass any blind taste test", and given your demonstrated weakness at reading comprehension, I am not inclined to assume any great sensory perception on your part.

 

That would be an easy bet to win. Use a strip steak and season with coarse kosher salt, iodized table salt, and salt flakes (Fleur-de-Sel.)

 

If the blind tasters can tell the difference between them - not identify them, just know that they're different - then the result would be that people can tell the difference between salts.

 

Correct?

[slidergirl]

That would be an easy bet to win. Use a strip steak and season with coarse kosher salt, iodized table salt, and salt flakes (Fleur-de-Sel.)

 

If the blind tasters can tell the difference between them - not identify them, just know that they're different - then the result would be that people can tell the difference between salts.

 

Correct?

 

Sorry I had to...

Here, it is the consistency of the salt, not necessarily the type, that is the difference. Kind of like using the same manufacturer's salt in the three consistencies. To see taste difference, I think that you would have to use the same consistency, but different types ( Himalayan, biscay French, Utahn, etc.) to find if someone could "taste" the difference. Does that make sense?

[navybankerteacher]

That would be an easy bet to win. Use a strip steak and season with coarse kosher salt, iodized table salt, and salt flakes (Fleur-de-Sel.)

 

If the blind tasters can tell the difference between them - not identify them, just know that they're different - then the result would be that people can tell the difference between salts.

 

Correct?

 

Not at all correct.

 

While there may or may not be discernible taste differences (which is the current topic)' the three samples you cite have distinctly different physical textures which would greatly facilitate telling the difference between them.

[navybankerteacher]

In retrospect, I believe that ellieanne provided the most practical post (#9) and bUU the most prescient post (#20) on this matter. I fear the blind taste test (which I still believe to be the highest and best approach) might have to wait until such time as the interested parties find themselves sharing an itinerary.

[POA1]

Sorry I had to...

Here, it is the consistency of the salt, not necessarily the type, that is the difference. Kind of like using the same manufacturer's salt in the three consistencies. To see taste difference, I think that you would have to use the same consistency, but different types ( Himalayan, biscay French, Utahn, etc.) to find if someone could "taste" the difference. Does that make sense?

 

Not at all correct.

 

While there may or may not be discernible taste differences (which is the current topic)' the three samples you cite have distinctly different physical textures which would greatly facilitate telling the difference between them.

 

You're moving the goal posts. Fleur de Sel is both a sea salt and a flaky salt, If you can't allow that into a sea salt taste test, then you aren't really doing a sea salt test. The consistency of the crystals in a prime determinant of the flavor characteristic

 

But....

 

Here are three sea salts that most people could tell apart. (This is opposed to identifying them outright I'm just talking about being able to tell that they're different.) They can all be tasted at the same, relatively coarse grind if that floats your boat.

 

 

 

• Sel Gris (Grey Salt, Brittany, France)
  
• Hiwa Kai (Black Salt, Hawaii, US)
  
• Kala Namak (Black Salt - although it's more pink/gray - India/Pakistan)
  

Sel Gris has one of the highest moisture content of all sea salts. Hiwa Kai has a distinct charcoal note. Kala Namak has a strong, sufur aroma. Think eggs.

 

For the most part, the salt selections are done for show. There are definitively dishes that benefit from different salt types, but when you see the salt trolley, wooden salt chest, or silver salt tray, in a restaurant, that's to impress the guests. If a dish calls for a particular salt, we're expecting the kitchen to know and to use the proper seasoning. We're paying for the expertise.

[SeeSun&Sea]

Drake's 2010 article in _Journal of Sensory Studies_ covers various culinary salts dissolved in distilled water. And, yes, the salts differed in flavor and sodium levels.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010.00317.x/full

[freestyling]

Now a few words for pepper! :)

[navybankerteacher]

 

 

...

 

For the most part, the salt selections are done for show.

 

...

 

 

.

 

So, at the end of the day, you appear to agree with my conclusion that while "... designer salts lend a certain panache to upscale tables... few of its advocates could pass any blind taste test."

[POA1]

So, at the end of the day, you appear to agree with my conclusion that while "... designer salts lend a certain panache to upscale tables... few of its advocates could pass any blind taste test."

No, I do not. It really depends on the salts chosen for your test. If you use the three in my list, most people will be able to tell them apart.

 

I took you at your word about the blind taste test. I really think that people would be able to tell the difference if presented with the three salts I listed.

 

Now, if you had said that, "This salt thing is just for show most of the time," I'd be inclined to agree.

 

People are on a cruise and they get excited about new experiences. I won't begrudge them that.

[slidergirl]

I have a idea for a taste test: rim some glasses with various salts. Mix up a big batch of Bloody Mary. Add Bloody Mary to each glass. Taste. Repeat. Taste. Repeat...

If you don't do Marys, try margaritas. (I can't do tequila - I get migraines with even a shot).

 

P.S. The "7452 Mary" at the St. Regis Deer Valley rims their glass with Hawaiian black lava salt. In my top 3 Marys (#1 is the Bloody Brunello at the St. Regis Florence, #3 is the original Red Snapper at the St. Regis NY) around the world.

[navybankerteacher]

 

...

 

Now, if you had said that, "This salt thing is just for show most of the time," I'd be inclined to agree

 

...

 

.

 

But it was you who said: "For the most part, the salt selections are done for show." In your post. And that, in fact, is my contention.

 

I agree that by sampling the different salts themselves, most people could tell them apart - but tasting them in the amounts properly sprinkled, on the foods involved, is an entirely different thing.