Blown away by how much salt a restaurant uses compared to home cooking

I was reading The Food Lab on my lunch break and Keller says most home cooks use about a third of the salt professional kitchens do. Has anyone else tried matching those restaurant salt levels at home and did it work out for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessawebb2d ago

Hang on, a quick correction on The Food Lab - Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote that book, not Thomas Keller. Keller has his own stuff but The Food Lab is all Kenji. Anyway, your layered salting idea is spot on, that's what makes restaurant food taste so balanced. Roasted veggies are tough though, try tossing them with salt and oil first, then roasting at 425F, and hit them with just a tiny pinch more salt right when they come out of the oven.

the_taylor6d ago

Keller is totally right, I tried matching restaurant salt levels once and my pasta water tasted like the ocean, but the food was actually better. The real trick is salting in layers, not just dumping it all at the end, right? Did you find that certain dishes just couldnt handle that much salt without tasting weird? I still cant get my roasted vegetables to taste as good as the ones from my local Italian spot no matter how much salt I use.

the_sage6d ago

Try roasting at a higher temp with less salt and more oil.