The 20 saltiest foods in America

[jennyema]

Not all restaurants but many, many of them do, particularly the Applebee's/Red Lobster types. Many non-chain restaurants do as well.

Prepackaged and processed food is very often cheaper to serve.

See Chef June's posts... with the caveat that even some smaller mom/pop restaurants use premade/processed ingredients.

I drive past Sysco trucks at several of the finest restaurants in the city several times a week. Don't know what they are unloading though.

 

[PanchoHambre]

Sysco.... How Sysco came to monopolize most of what you eat. - By Ulrich Boser - Slate Magazine

The ingredients alone on some of the pre-made items are enough to make a restaurant-goer swear off eating out. The breaded cheese chicken breast, for instance, contains monocalcium phosphates, sorbic acid preservatives, and oleoresin in turmeric. The Serve Smart Chicken is particularly frightening. While it looks natural, it consists of parts of other chicken breasts mashed together into a single, chicken-breastlike block. As the company notes on its Web site, our "unique 3-D technology gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost. … Available in four great flavors: teriyaki, BBQ, fajita and original." What Smart Chicken tastes like, I'd rather not know.
Restaurants make a mint from serving these pre-prepped foods, since the meals can be purchased in bulk and stored in a freezer for months. A box of 36, 4-ounce chicken Kievs, for instance, can be kept in an icebox for up to 180 days. And the savings from labor costs are considerable. Each reheated Angus country fried steak will bring in almost $5 in profits. In the words of Sysco, these meals require nothing more than the ability to "heat, assemble, and serve."

So no dont assume that your indy bistro is buying free range chicken down at the farmers market either.... Sysco dominates the food industry while not everything the sell is processed they certainly gain alot of mileage from it

 

[sattie]

Welp, hubby may not be so happy to find out that his favorite dish at RMG is the saltiest dish around. I had no clue! I don't eat any of the stuff listed, but the Lord know's I get my share of salt intake!

 

[ChefJune]

All restaurants?

All the chains, yes... pretty much. Food is made in a central kitchen and shipped to the various locations. Smaller chains, such as Legal Seafood and Mortons are not what we're talking about here. Those places use uniform recipes, but the food is cooked fresh onsite. but the HUUUUGE chains like Red Lobster, TGI Friday's, et al, most food is only "finished" on site.

It seems to me you are implying that all restaurants use preservatives, which is specifically what I was asking about. If you're talking about fast-food restaurants, then you need to say that.

not implying. stating. Fast food places, like KFC and Mickey d's it goes without saying that everythning is pre-prepped. but also at places like Denny's, Chili's, TGI Friday's, Red Lobster et al. Otherwise, the food would not be "the same" It would be different at each location, and that is NOT their goal.

 

[ChefJune]

Not all restaurants but many, many of them do, particularly the Applebee's/Red Lobster types. Many non-chain restaurants do as well.

Prepackaged and processed food is very often cheaper to serve.

See Chef June's posts... with the caveat that even some smaller mom/pop restaurants use premade/processed ingredients.

I drive past Sysco trucks at several of the finest restaurants in the city several times a week. Don't know what they are unloading though.

Sysco does not primarily sell prepared food. They are a distributor for all sorts of comestibles that restaurants need to run their shops... fresh meat and produce, included.

 

[GotGarlic]

All restaurants?

All the chains, yes... pretty much. Food is made in a central kitchen and shipped to the various locations. Smaller chains, such as Legal Seafood and Mortons are not what we're talking about here. Those places use uniform recipes, but the food is cooked fresh onsite. but the HUUUUGE chains like Red Lobster, TGI Friday's, et al, most food is only "finished" on site.





not implying. stating. Fast food places, like KFC and Mickey d's it goes without saying that everythning is pre-prepped. but also at places like Denny's, Chili's, TGI Friday's, Red Lobster et al. Otherwise, the food would not be "the same" It would be different at each location, and that is NOT their goal.

Having worked at KFC and Burger King in high school, I know how they work. That's not what I'm asking about. I rarely go to any chain restaurants because we have too many other good options.

I go out almost every week with friends for dinner; we have quite a few local restaurants that might, at the most, have a few local outlets, but most of them have just one location. When you say "all restaurants," that means every last one - even the local owner-operated ones. I'm pretty sure that in these restaurants, at least, they're not serving pressed chicken parts.