New proposed ban and a cooking question

**Odd** · 03-11-10, 06:14 AM

Chefs Call Proposed New York Salt Ban 'Absurd'

Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises," the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.

The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.

"The consumer needs to make their own health choices. Just as doctors and the occasional visit to a hospital can't truly control how a person chooses to maintain their health, neither can chefs nor the occasional visit to a restaurant," said Jeff Nathan, the executive chef and co-owner of Abigael's on Broadway. "Modifying trans fats and sodium intake needs to be home based for optimal health. Regulating restaurants will not solve this health issue."

Blah blah, another possible do-gooder ban. Not even going to bother getting upset with it. Instead I have a question about the food prep itself.

Can you salt food post cooking to achieve the same flavor as if it was added while the dish was being prepared? Seems it'd be about impossible to get the same uniform flavor, but beyond that, are there chemical reactions that take place during cooking that cannot be replicated at the table?

Guess I'm wondering if there are recipes that just plain don't work without it.

**lewisipso** · 03-11-10, 08:01 AM

**HudsonHawk** · 03-11-10, 08:54 AM

NYC already had the trans fat ban. I guess the state is just filled with people who have nothing better to do than tell you how to live. Bloomberg and Paterson also support a "soda tax" on sugary drinks at $0.01 per ounce. That's $0.12 on a 12oz can or ~$0.68 per 2L bottle. Apparently this is already happening in Chicago.

**213th** · 03-11-10, 09:08 AM

I believe in baking, there is a chemical reaction that would not be achieved by salting after it is already baked. Not sure about any other types of cooking. Buttercup would probably be a good one to ask

**Jenna** · 03-11-10, 09:19 AM

Don't people die if they are completely deprived of salt?

**Five-0** · 03-11-10, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Jenna

Don't people die if they are completely deprived of salt?

What the hell does it matter......we are all terminal.

**Jenna** · 03-11-10, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by Five-0

What the hell does it matter......we are all terminal.

**Xiphos** · 03-11-10, 09:45 AM

Salt is a pretty important part of food prep.

Instead of a nanny government trying to keep everyone from having salt (or good tasting food in this case) why don't they just mandate that restaurants be able to provide salt content of dishes if asked?

If this goes forward I predict many of the great chefs in NY will leave the city.

**Captain America** · 03-11-10, 09:47 AM

Why not just mandate that everybody in New York has to eat hospital food ?

**Xiphos** · 03-11-10, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Captain America

Why not just mandate that everybody in New York has to eat hospital food ?

That will be the practical effect.

**pgg** · 03-11-10, 12:16 PM

Thats fucking retarded

**ms1600** · 03-11-10, 12:37 PM

(Standing in the back of a restaurant near the restrooms.) "Psst. I got salt. Sea salt, iodine free. Just $10/baggie."

**Captain America** · 03-11-10, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by ms1600

(Standing in the back of a restaurant near the restrooms.) "Psst. I got salt. Sea salt, iodine free. Just $10/baggie."

Right you'll get busted for assault....

**ms1600** · 03-11-10, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Captain America

Right you'll get busted for assault....

That's adding insalt to injury.

**Buttercup** · 03-16-10, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Odd

Chefs Call Proposed New York Salt Ban 'Absurd'

Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises," the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.

The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.

"The consumer needs to make their own health choices. Just as doctors and the occasional visit to a hospital can't truly control how a person chooses to maintain their health, neither can chefs nor the occasional visit to a restaurant," said Jeff Nathan, the executive chef and co-owner of Abigael's on Broadway. "Modifying trans fats and sodium intake needs to be home based for optimal health. Regulating restaurants will not solve this health issue."

Blah blah, another possible do-gooder ban. Not even going to bother getting upset with it. Instead I have a question about the food prep itself.

Can you salt food post cooking to achieve the same flavor as if it was added while the dish was being prepared? Seems it'd be about impossible to get the same uniform flavor, but beyond that, are there chemical reactions that take place during cooking that cannot be replicated at the table?

Guess I'm wondering if there are recipes that just plain don't work without it.

I just saw this thread, sorry for taking so long to chime in.

The simple answer to your first question is no. You're never going to get exactly the same flavor if you add salt post-cooking as opposed to adding it during the cooking process, for exactly the reason you suggested. Adding salt during the cooking process does give a uniform flavor to the food. Adding salt afterward, unless you're really good at mixing it into your food, will just taste like bland food with salt on top and probably give you more of a salty taste sensation - not to mention the physical sensation of typical sized salt granules in your mouth.

In some cases, adding salt during the cooking process reduces the bitter taste of some foods and in other cases (as with eggplant) adding a slight amount of salt helps draw out moisture to give a more desirable finished product, depending on the cooking process. Other than in baking or curing/processing meats, there's really no chemical reaction that takes place in salting food during the cooking process.

With baking, salt is necessary for the proper chemical reactions to take place. In combination with other ingredients salt controls gluten structure (texture), yeast fermentation (along with sugar), it controls the leavening, and as in everything else, it enhances flavor.

You could take any recipe and leave out the salt, but if you taste that item against one made with the recommended amount of salt there would be a difference (taste and physical differences in baked items).

I think the notion of a ban on adding salt to cooked foods is absolutely ridiculous. No chef or cook wants to prepare and serve bland food.

Sodium reduction is huge in the food industry right now, many companies are looking at alternatives to salt and methods of sodium reduction, but they want to do it without compromising flavor and quality. Restaurant chefs are no different, they don't want to compromise either and that's exactly what would happen if this bill goes through (which I really don't expect it will).

If it were to pass and I had the money to do it, I'd open a restaurant that served nothing but BLTs and other bacon items just for spite.

**Buttercup** · 03-16-10, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Xiphos

Salt is a pretty important part of food prep.

Instead of a nanny government trying to keep everyone from having salt (or good tasting food in this case) why don't they just mandate that restaurants be able to provide salt content of dishes if asked?

If this goes forward I predict many of the great chefs in NY will leave the city.

In better restaurants (as well as some mid-range restaurants) food is prepared to order and the consumer can always ask that the food not be prepared with salt. And you're right, NY would lose many great chefs.

I wonder how this proposed legislation addresses the chain restaurants where in most cases the food arrives at the restaurants pre-seasoned, marinated, coated, etc.

**Jenna** · 03-16-10, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Buttercup

If it were to pass and I had the money to do it, I'd open a restaurant that served nothing but BLTs and other bacon items just for spite.

**gopherpuckfan** · 03-17-10, 04:44 AM

Originally Posted by Buttercup

If it were to pass and I had the money to do it, I'd open a restaurant that served nothing but BLTs and other bacon items just for spite.

I would live there

**Captain America** · 03-17-10, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by gopherpuckfan

I would live there

I second that.

**JAYBIRD33081** · 03-18-10, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by 213th

I believe in baking, there is a chemical reaction that would not be achieved by salting after it is already baked. Not sure about any other types of cooking. Buttercup would probably be a good one to ask

Hes right, I was a baker for 10 years. You need salt to bake.