A little salt goes a long way

Canadians love salt. Food companies like Campbell's put more salt in the products they sell in Canada than in the same ones for the U.S. market, from customer demand. Since I use salt in moderation, whenever I eat out or from a can, I find the food too salty, sometimes even bread and desserts.

Restaurants overload their dishes with salt to please their customers, and salt should be added during the cooking, not at the table.

This, however, does not hold for soup. Since salt dissolves easily in hot liquids, soup should be prepared with little salt, to allow customers to add more if they wish.

Usage may be changing. Now I occasionally find products in restaurants and stores that are not too salty — Amy's organic soups, for example.

Concern for health, no doubt, is driving this shift; excess salt is a factor in many of our illnesses, according to Dr. Louise Gagné, University of Saskatchewan. Using less salt has gastronomic advantages as well: moderate salting enhances the flavour of food; excess salt obscures it.

So cooks, be part of the vanguard. When you prepare soup for people outside your immediate family, moderate the salt. And maybe learn the benefits of using less.

David Edney, Saskatoon