Ingredientbeginnerdraft
Salt
Also searched as: table salt, sea salt, fleur de sel, salting
In short: Salt does more than season. It draws out water, keeps water in meat, tightens bread dough and slows yeast.
Picture it
Like a tool with several blades: depending on timing and amount, it does something different.
What Salt does
Tap a dot to see its connections.
What happens
On the surface, salt first draws water out. Given time, it penetrates, seasons all the way through and helps the meat hold its juice. In bread dough it strengthens the ; in large amounts it slows the yeast.
What the ingredient does
draws water from surfacesOsmosis: salt and sugar draw out water
keeps water in meatSalt keeps water in meat
tightens the gluten networkGluten development
boosts flavourMore flavour
Rules of thumb
- Salt meat right before cooking or many hours ahead.
- Coarse salt for pre-salting, fine salt for seasoning.
- Never put salt directly onto yeast.
Related entries
Sources
- America’s Test Kitchen: Salting turkey – how long is long enough?
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Fleisch