Healthy Eating Guidelines – Alternatives to Salt

Food tastes better when it is properly seasoned to bring out all the flavours. Theseasoning of choice was always Salt which we now know is not the best thing tohave in excess and healthy eating guidelines suggest that we avoid adding it. Sohow do we replace that as a flavour enhancer?Salt in small quantities is necessary for life, you would soon be aware of healthproblems if you had no salt in your diet, the issue is with the huge quantities thatare added to many processed foods to mask poor ingredients. There are manyalternatives that can be used to give piquancy to your food. Fresh or dried herbsand spices are the obvious alternatives though I have to say, from a personalpoint of view, many foods taste just as good without any salt or seasoning. Youget the full, natural flavour. Vegetables are one of the foods that can suffer frombeing salted in cooking. When you have lovely fresh Purple Sprouting Broccoli forexample, or new Peas the salt masks the delicate flavours completely and turnsthem into something quite ordinary.Probably the most common alternative for Salt is Pepper, it is certainly the one Iuse a great deal. I use freshly ground mixed peppercorns which add a richnessand depth of flavour to savoury dishes. I do use white pepper with fish andchicken dishes sometimes from a presentation point of view but more often thannot, I don’t worry about it! The next favourite for me is Garlic. It has hugehealth benefits in its own right and is invaluable in the kitchen. If I am roastinganything I throw a few cloves of unpeeled garlic into the tin and it gives a verydelicate flavour. The garlic is very sweet to eat as an added bonus. Crushed orchopped in soups, stews, stir fries, in fact almost anything, sensibly used garlicenhances the flavours. If you are not very keen on it try just rubbing a cut cloveof garlic across the surface of the pan before you start cooking. It won’t taste of garlic I promise but it will draw out the flavour of the food.Bay leaves bring a soft warm flavour, especially to creamy sauces and egg dishes.It is very easy to grow and is available all year round so you can just grab acouple of fresh leaves when you want them. Bruise them gently to bring out thefull flavour and aroma. My Bay Tree is just outside the door so I can grab ahandful without having to get wet in the rain. Another favourite for me is Parsley,again for sauces but equally delicious in savoury dishes or as a garnish where itbrings a unique flavour all it’s own. Coriander is also very popular of recent timesand makes delicious soups when combined with quite ordinary ingredients likeCarrots. Basil has a very similar relationship with Tomatoes and is a marriagemade in heaven.I use a great of Nutmeg in cooking as well, particularly with fish and cheesedishes, freshly grated it is almost perfumed. Going for a completely differenttaste sensation English Mustard powder is also very useful to draw out cheesesauces and makes a Welsh Rarebit something very special indeed, particularly if you add a dash of Worcestershire Sauce. Cinnamon is useful spice with redmeats, I prefer to use a Cinnamon stick and let in infuse in the sauce for a whilerather than the ground spice.Rosemary is traditional accompaniment for Lamb but I find it very useful withchicken and fish dishes too, along with citrus fruits – the grated rind of lemons,limes and oranges can really lift a dish and cut through the richness thatsometimes overpowers your taste buds. For more oriental dishes I like to useGinger and Spring Onions (Scallions) or Chives which are a little more delicate.