Why does salt taste different in different dishes?

Why does salt taste different in different dishes? - Tasty colorful gumdrops in plate

If I salt tomato, potato and pasta, their tastes change in completely different ways to me. Why is this? Had I put oregano on them, they'd all taste like oregano.

Update: The question is not "is it so?" but "why is it so?"



Best Answer

Two properties of salt that oregano doesn't have:

water solubility: you drop salt in water, you put it on chicken, you put it in tomato sauce. Most or all of it ends up dissolving, making it easier to mix.

osmosis: related to above. Sprinkle some salt on raw meat. Come back in 5 minutes and you'll see beads of liquid on the meat, almost like it was sweating. That's a combination of salt dissolving into the liquid on the surface of the meat, and osmosis pulling less salty water out of the cells of the meat to balance the salty water on the surface. In 10 minutes, some of that liquid will have disappeared. Part of this might be due to evaporation, but part of this is due to the liquid pulling salt into the cells, which changes the equilibrium and allows for the cells to draw liquid back in (principle behind brining meats).

Salt has a natural way of penetrating organic matter that oregano and many other seasonings don't. There are other mechanisms at play too--salty foods can make you salivate, which may make something feel "juicier" in your mouth. I'd highly recommend the Good Eats episode on salt as a start.




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Quick Answer about "Why does salt taste different in different dishes?"

Salt is used as a universal flavour improver because at low concentrations it will reduce bitterness, but increase sweet, sour and umami, which is desirable for sweet recipes. But at higher concentrations it suppresses sweetness and enhances umami, which is good for savoury things.

Does salt from different places taste different?

Differences in taste Other impurities like trace minerals can also affect the taste and appearance of certain types of salt, including Himalayan and sea salt. However, while there may be minor variations, any taste differences are insignificant.

Why does a dash of salt make some foods sweeter?

Salt enhances sweetness and blocks bitterness That's because sodium ions zero in on bitter flavor compounds and suppress them, making the sweet flavors seem stronger. For the same reason, salt makes bitter foods more palatable.

Does everyone taste salt the same?

Summary: Low-salt foods may be harder for some people to like than others, according to a new study. The research indicates that genetics influence some of the difference in the levels of salt we like to eat.

Does salt have its own flavor?

It is commonly held that there are five basic tastes\u2014sweet, sour, bitter, umami (savory) and salty. Common table salt (NaCl) is perceived as \u201csalty\u201d, of course, yet dilute solutions also elicit sourness, sweetness, and bitterness under certain situations [4].



Why Does Salt Make Food Taste Better?




More answers regarding why does salt taste different in different dishes?

Answer 2

Salt is completely water soluble, unlike only trace amount of what is in oregano. That being the case, it will completely saturate anything that is wet, therefore it can completely consume and pair with every bite, whereas oregano remains in chunks and can be distinctly tasted alone.

Answer 3

Salt has a neat ability to bring out and enhance flavours in other foods. If the food tastes "salty", you're probably adding too much. If you use something like Kosher salt, you don't actually need to use very much to add the flavor.

Here's a decent article on it.

Alton Brown talks about it in many different episodes.

Answer 4

This is because salt is a natural flavor enhancer, which basically brings out the flavor of whatever you are putting it in. Different salts also give different flavors, depending of the minerality in them.

Answer 5

Oregano actually does not relevantly TASTE of anything, apart from a negligible bitterness (you would notice it if you tried eating a can of dried oregano straight :) ). It works on the aroma level of things. Also, as with most aromatic ingredients, the aroma can change in character and potency when heat is applied or other chemical reactions during cooking.

Clean salt is not involved in aroma at all, but in the balance of the six basic tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami, fat). There is a paradox regarding your impression: Aromas tend to actually change when heat or other cooking methods are applied (by evaporation, solution, chemical changes), while salt stays salt (either as a solid crystal or as Na and Cl ions) throughout any preparation process that still leaves you with an edible result. However, unlike aromas, basic tastes emphasize and/or cancel each other depending on their balance.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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