In Part 1 of Flavour with Less Salt I wrote about the role of salt in enhancing the flavour of food. In today's blog I would like to share some tips that I use at home to keep our food flavourful with less salt.
Soups:
- Since water dilutes flavour, I add less water and more veggies to my soups. When I make a carrot or squash soup, I add just enough water or broth to cover the veggies. When I purée it all the soup is thick and full of flavour.
- Soups always taste better the next day, once the flavours have mingled, so I try to make enough for several days.
Salad dressing:
- I find that crushed garlic and mustard really amp up the flavour of a vinaigrette dressing.
- Lemon, lime and orange juices are fantastic in dressings. More flavour with less salt.
Cooking:
- I tend to add more of the aromatic vegetables like onion, garlic and ginger than the recipe calls for (while cutting the salt in half).
- Adding fresh herbs like chopped cilantro, basil or mint just before serving makes a dish smell great (fresh herbs are delicate so add them in at the end).
- Toast spices like cumin, mustard and coriander seeds, or even a cinnamon stick, in a dry pan to really get them smelling good. I grind the seeds up and add them to curries; the cinnamon stick goes in whole.
- I like to use dried mushrooms. I add hot water to the mushrooms to rehydrate them and then use the flavourful mushroom broth in my cooking.
- Fresh and seasonal produce generally has a better flavour, so I look for produce that is in season and try to use it within a few days.
Baking:
- Browning food builds flavour. I add toasted shredded coconut to my banana muffins, and toasted sunflower seeds to my chocolate chip cookies.
There are a lot of great ways to add flavour to foods while cutting back on salt. - What do you do?
