Thursday, January 1, 2009

Salt and Pepper to Taste

This blog will chronicle my journeys through the culinary world, my experiments in the kitchen and, most importantly, my discoveries of flavors.

My purpose is to journal my successes and failures in the kitchen, while emphasizing the joys of experiencing different tastes.

The title of this blog, Salt and Pepper to Taste, is something we see in almost all recipes. The importance of it is probably overlooked, however. Salt and pepper are two of the simplest and least expensive seasonings available, yet they probably contribute the most to enhancing the flavor of food.Note that I said "enhancing" the flavor of food and not "flavoring" the food.

I grew up in a house where the word salt was almost forbidden. It was an ingredient that was always left out of food. This was done all in the name of being healthy.

Now that I have nearly graduated medical school myself, and will be embarking in a career in medicine I am happy to be able to report (with some authority) that salt is not evil. Properly seasoning food with salt will not make you have a stroke. It will not make you die of a heart attack. It will not put you into heart failure, or kidney failure, or any other type of failure.

What it will do is make your food more flavorful. It will give you a more satisfying meal. If you feel more satisfied, you will eat less. See where this is going?

So, enjoy the food!