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Dear Helena,
The other night I made risotto for a friend. I worked hard on it, so I was annoyed when she demanded salt and sprinkled it all over her rice. I was offended by the implication that my cooking is bland. Is it rude for a guest to ask for salt?—Insulted
Dear Insulted,
Some of us lust for salt more than others. One person might taste a soup and find it briny; someone else might find it bland. (Interestingly, a recent study by the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia found a correlation between low birth weight and salt cravings.) A diet high in salt can raise salt tolerance, while some may skimp on salt because of health concerns. Everyone’s salt set point is different.
This means that no cook, however skilled, can season a dish to suit every diner’s taste. It is therefore arrogant when fancy restaurants don’t put salt on the table. TV chef Bob Blumer, a.k.a. the Surreal Gourmet, always offers salt, remarking: “Any chef who says the dish is already perfectly seasoned has his head up his ass.”
Generally speaking, it’s rude to tinker with your dinner. You can’t ask for curry powder, fresh cilantro, or a squeeze of lime. But salt is the one seasoning every guest may adjust to suit his or her taste. This is because, while other seasonings may subtly alter a dish, salt allows a dish to become truly itself.
Have a Table Manners question? Email Helena.
Being a chef myself I agree with the poster. Truthfully I would feel bad if a dinner guest in my home asked for salt. There are people that cannot or do not value the subtleties, or true flavors of certain foods and reach for the salt without thinking or tasting. Most fine dining establishments do not offer condiments for that very reason. More effort should go into appreciating the meal in the...+READ
Being a chef myself I agree with the poster. Truthfully I would feel bad if a dinner guest in my home asked for salt. There are people that cannot or do not value the subtleties, or true flavors of certain foods and reach for the salt without thinking or tasting. Most fine dining establishments do not offer condiments for that very reason. More effort should go into appreciating the meal in the way that the originator intended. Just my personal opinion.-COLLAPSE
salt and ketchup, the bullet to a proud chef's food! but both my father and cousin HAVE to put these two on everything BEFORE they even taste it! just blaim it on their dead taste-cells and don't put so much effort when cooking for said party, again :)
I don't recall salt and/or pepper in a single restaurant in which I have been in France and I have eaten no higher than one star. But then again , what do the French know about food. It is the Russians and the English working class whose culinary standards have spread across the world.
If your guest asks for salt, smile politely and give it to him. The next time, prepare a special meal for...+READ
I don't recall salt and/or pepper in a single restaurant in which I have been in France and I have eaten no higher than one star. But then again , what do the French know about food. It is the Russians and the English working class whose culinary standards have spread across the world.
If your guest asks for salt, smile politely and give it to him. The next time, prepare a special meal for him, as if he were a vegetarian or the like. A can of dog food, beautifully presented with a box of salt. Ioidized of course, so it has that special sting. This is good enough for him.
VVM-COLLAPSE
I don't recall salt and/or pepper in a single restaurant in which I have been in France and I have eaten no higher than one star. But then again , what do the French know about food. It is the Russian and the English working class who culinary standards have spread across the world.
If your guest asks for salt, smile politely and give it to him. The next time prepare a special meal for him, as...+READ
I don't recall salt and/or pepper in a single restaurant in which I have been in France and I have eaten no higher than one star. But then again , what do the French know about food. It is the Russian and the English working class who culinary standards have spread across the world.
If your guest asks for salt, smile politely and give it to him. The next time prepare a special meal for him, as if he were a vegetarian or the like. A can of dog food and a box of salt. Ioidized of course, so it has that special sting. This is good enough for him.
VVM-COLLAPSE
I don't usually mind guests asking for typical condiments as long as they try a dish first. Note that I said "typical". Once, after spending an afternoon preparing my own recipe for tacos, the guy I was dating at the time bypassed my homemade salsa and opted for ketchup instead. He couldn't understand why I was shocked and offended.
One time I shared a meal at a Chinese restaurant that involved several elaborate courses including types of fish, shrimp, duck, calamari, and shark fin's soup. Among the ten or so people was a non-Chinese couple (the rest of us were Chinese diners), and they declared that this was their first time trying many of the dishes. I was still shocked when the gentleman requested and poured soy sauce all...+READ
One time I shared a meal at a Chinese restaurant that involved several elaborate courses including types of fish, shrimp, duck, calamari, and shark fin's soup. Among the ten or so people was a non-Chinese couple (the rest of us were Chinese diners), and they declared that this was their first time trying many of the dishes. I was still shocked when the gentleman requested and poured soy sauce all over his plate. For me, it's like adding ketchup to someone's thoughtful effort. Maybe as thoughtless, he verbalized comments about how strange some of the food was then lightly joked about how great he was for trying it.-COLLAPSE
It's an interesting dynamic: the cook insisting that the dish she prepared be eaten as is, and the guest "demanding" salt. Demanding would indeed be rude, if that's what happened.
I worked with a heavy smoker who used the saltshaker as soon as food was placed in front of her, simply because she could barely taste anything. That's just how it is with some people.
I don't think it's rude for anyone to ask for anything - salt, pepper, lime, whatever. I would just ask that they taste it first. I love when a waiter asks me if I would like grated cheese or fresh pepper before giving me a chance to taste the dish.
While it may be possible to discreetly tuck a vial of Tabasco into your decolletage, extracting it discreetly would be quite a feat!
I think the rudeness is in seasoning it before you've tasted it. Salt added at the table can never have the same effect as salt added at the proper point during cooking, so if it's possible to avoid salting food at the table, that's what you should do.
The rudeness is not in seasoning the food to your liking, but in expecting your host/hostess to supply you with condiments. For this reason, you should wear a small locket (perhaps on an elegant silver chain) containing a small amount of fleur de sel and flaked pepper for your personal use. A tiny flask of Tabasco or hot pepper vinegar tucked discreetly into one's waistband or decolletage can...+READ
The rudeness is not in seasoning the food to your liking, but in expecting your host/hostess to supply you with condiments. For this reason, you should wear a small locket (perhaps on an elegant silver chain) containing a small amount of fleur de sel and flaked pepper for your personal use. A tiny flask of Tabasco or hot pepper vinegar tucked discreetly into one's waistband or decolletage can punch up a bland consomme or fussed-over, yet underwhelming main dish to the point of tolerability without publicly calling the "chef's" culinary skills into question.-COLLAPSE
I don't tend to cook with much salt, but I also really prefer that people taste the food I serve them before they season it. It seems fairly reckless, to me, not to do so first.
I'm a notorious under-salter so I always have salt handy for my friends who want more salt. I grew up in Japan, but on Okinawa, in the south and the food is much less salty there than in the north. I'm not offended if people want to add more seasoning but it does annoy me when they season the food without tasting it first. Even at my local pho restaurant, I always taste the broth before adding...+READ
I'm a notorious under-salter so I always have salt handy for my friends who want more salt. I grew up in Japan, but on Okinawa, in the south and the food is much less salty there than in the north. I'm not offended if people want to add more seasoning but it does annoy me when they season the food without tasting it first. Even at my local pho restaurant, I always taste the broth before adding any condiment.-COLLAPSE
however, it is rude to add salt and pepper before actually tasting the dish. think hovering waiter with looming peppermill...
I crave salt and put it on everything. All of my friends in the United States know this so whenever they cook for me they always offer me the salt shaker. I think they consider their food perfectly seasoned when I add salt. If I didn't they would be worried that it was too salty for a normal palate. Right now I am living in Japan where the most of the food is really salty. I never have to ask for...+READ
I crave salt and put it on everything. All of my friends in the United States know this so whenever they cook for me they always offer me the salt shaker. I think they consider their food perfectly seasoned when I add salt. If I didn't they would be worried that it was too salty for a normal palate. Right now I am living in Japan where the most of the food is really salty. I never have to ask for salt at a restaurant or a friend's house here because my salt set point is average for a Japanese person. I don't think that anyone should be offended by someone wanting to add salt to a dish, it is just a matter of personaly preference "season to taste".-COLLAPSE