How does a pinch of salt make a difference to a recipe?

Best Answer

---

Pictures about "How does a pinch of salt make a difference to a recipe?"

---

Quick Answer about "How does a pinch of salt make a difference to a recipe?"

The simple answer is: people can taste (and smell, when the substance in question has a smell) substances in very low concentrations. A pinch of salt is not a small amount at all, it is a sufficient amount to be tasted.

Does a pinch of salt really make a difference?

Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat, notes that salt is one of the most important flavor-building ingredients you can add to any plate, and unless you're salting the top of a finished meal, a pinch won't make much of a difference.

When a recipe calls for a pinch of salt How much is that?

If you want to get very technical and scientific, a pinch is generally defined as 1/16 teaspoon. While there's some debate about this, The New Food Lover's Companion considers a pinch to be 1/16 tsp, while a dash is \u201csomewhere between 1/16 and a scant 1/8 teaspoon.\u201d Not all cookbooks agree.

Does it matter when you add salt to a recipe?

Adding salt at the beginning of cooking gives it time to migrate into the pieces of food, seasoning them throughout. Meanwhile, if you add salt only at the end, it provides a more concentrated, superficial coating that immediately hits your tongue.

---

Science: When to Add Salt During Cooking—and Why (It Makes a Huge Difference)

---