My Love Affair is Over

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Funny you should mention salty bread. Lately my home made bread seems to salty. I have been thinking of cutting back or eliminating the salt altogether. I use a teaspoon in a pound loaf. Would I notice the difference if I cut back to a half tsp?
 
Does anybody know why so many products include so much salt? I try to purchase salt free everything, and it is difficult to find products without salt. When you do find them, they are higher priced than unsalted.

My guess is that salt is an ultra cheap method of covering the taste of all of the non-food additives and chemicals that are in processed food. I've never bought low-sodium anything so I don't know about the price differences. But it's interesting that they charge more to use less of something, hmm? What a huge reminder that most food companies are all about cheap mass production and high profit margins and not so much about providing healthy, nutritious, real food. =)


I've accidentally forgotten to add salt to my bread dough before. Bread made without salt tastes like crap; you can tell the instant you take a bite that something is definitely missing.
 
Salt is added as a preservative and as a flavor. Salt and fat tend to make up for the lack of "flavor" in most processed foods, as does sugar.

That being said, I still occasionally use canned cream soups and buy pre-made and processed food. IMHO everything in moderation, as long as I don't eat like that at every meal every day having it occasionally is fine.
 
I don't have any health issues with salt, but many of my friends do, so I'm careful. One result of watching it is that I am beginning to find things too salty that I'd never have found so a decade ago (I'm 55). I had a taste for Pringles the other day, and hubby and I could not finish the tube, they were TOO SALTY. A few years back I had acquaintances salting their Thanksgiving dinner like crazy and thought, my lord. My Thanksgiving dinner is one where I play loose and easy with the salt and thought everyone would find it TOO salty (everyone else at the table found the salt just right, just this one couple, who have some serious health problems now). And, as you've mentioned, I've found a lot of canned soups I loved .... too salty. Then, if I buy the low salt version, no flavor! So all I was tasting, all of those years, was canned salt?

OUCH!
 
That is a pretty high count for sodium. Like DaveSoMD said, its used as a preservative. Have you ever thought about making you're own? I'm sure there is a pretty good recipe for a similar cream/mushroom soup.
 
Barbara, do you think they have raised the sodium level, or are you developing a sensitive taste towards it?
I doubt it is any saltier than before--I think it is me. I quit salting my food at the table close to 20 years ago (except for a few things) and within two weeks started noticing how salty the food already was. I have been cooking with it for years, as I said, and it surprised me how salty it seemed the other night. I have been hearing stories on the news lately that they (government? can't remember) are going to actually start rewarding stores (not sure how) for selling healthier foods, and that a lot of food manufacturers are starting to lower the sodium, sugar, etc. levels in foods.

Another food that really surprised me was cottage cheese. I had the same experience a couple weeks ago, with it tasting extra salty. I checked the nutrition information and a serving had 20% of the daily value of sodium. And to think that I used to add salt to my cottage cheese!

:)Barbara
 
I doubt it is any saltier than before--I think it is me. I quit salting my food at the table close to 20 years ago (except for a few things) and within two weeks started noticing how salty the food already was. I have been cooking with it for years, as I said, and it surprised me how salty it seemed the other night. I have been hearing stories on the news lately that they (government? can't remember) are going to actually start rewarding stores (not sure how) for selling healthier foods, and that a lot of food manufacturers are starting to lower the sodium, sugar, etc. levels in foods.

Another food that really surprised me was cottage cheese. I had the same experience a couple weeks ago, with it tasting extra salty. I checked the nutrition information and a serving had 20% of the daily value of sodium. And to think that I used to add salt to my cottage cheese!

:)Barbara

I had the same experience with cottage cheese. All the sudden it needs no salt...it used to and that wasn't long ago. But, it's hard for me to say...I also quit smoking a while ago and I know my taste buds have been effected. Spicy foods are much spicier! Whoo boy!
 
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Nah, I'm pretty sure salt makes some flavours "wake up". Or maybe it's your taste buds that wake up. :rolleyes:

Now, you've got it. Over-salting masks flavors but a little bit of salt "perks" up the flavors already there. That's why I use salt sparingly and even use it in my sugar glazes. Just a sprinkle of salt in those makes all the difference in the world in how the base flavors jump out. I'm not talking about lots of salt, just a pinch or less.

As for bread, yes, there should be some salt to, again, perk up the yeasty, yummy flavor of the bread. Just my take. Use my information as you see fit.
 
We have been reducing our salt intake for a long time now. I used to think having a plate of deli meat, a slice of cheese and some crackers for lunch was healthy... lol.. now I can't even stand the taste of deli meat because it's SO processed and salty.

My only downfall is that nacho cheese dip. I have found one that won't kill my sodium intake for the day if I gorge on the whole thing... I'm so blessed to have found it.. !!!!

Now the chips, that is another story altogether.

I have never salted my food though, but my mom used to cook alot of packaged food, like side noodles, rice, etc. Whereas in my home, I make everything fresh... rice from a box is NOT allowed in our house!!!!
 
My elderly parents are both heart patients. When I go to MN, I am horrified by how many cans of soup are in their pantry. The sodium in most canned foods is horrible, but canned soup is awful re: sodium levels. Good for you to drop cream of mushroom soup from your diet--you can make it from scratch quite easily (and so much tastier <g>). I have tried to show them how to make meals, e.g., wild rice/broccoli/chicken casserole, homemade soup from chicken bones, to no avail. The fact I know how to cook is not because my mother taught me <g>. I always make sure I leave about 3 months of stuff in the freezer, including lots of soup. And, a schedule of when they are to eat what I've made, when to take stuff out of the freezer to thaw, etc. I return 5-6 months later and much of the stuff I made is still there--"we were waiting to eat it when you came back." My mother has dementia and my father can't cook (won't--he's very intelligent, he just doesn't believe he should cook--that's my mother's job). So they rely on canned soup for lunch (and packaged foods--Hamburger Helper, etc.) all the time. I wish they would not...drives me MAD. And, why I try not to use prepared foods unless I can't help it (I guess I could've bought a fresh coconut for the avocado ice cream except where I am, there is only one grocery store and the produce department is sadly lacking...often I can't buy celery because the store doesn't have any, I've never seen coconuts there). And, with fuel prices, I couldn't justify driving 30 minutes to buy one coconut...Maybe this belongs under VENT?
 
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I am a Campbells Soup fanatic with the Golden Mushroom being my very favorite.

Leave it all up to Barbara to let us all in on the Sodium content. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
Salt makes your mouth water, so my theory is that this gives you the impression that what you are eating has this effect on you. Salty flavors are picked up by the tastebuds and work with the ion channels. Supposedly, this creates some sort of electrical charge that travels through cell membranes.:wacko:
I'm in way over my head, here.:LOL: But I have read articles to this effect.
 
My sodium limit is 1000mg/day...I have to be very careful! Watching the sodium in the chocolate...yikes!

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but 1 TSP (yup, teaspoon) of baking soda used to contain more than 1000 mg of sodium. I don't know if anything has been done to reduce that amount. A substitute is potassium bicarbonate. Your pharmacy might be able to get that for you. I've never seen a "sodium reduced" baking soda. Has anyone? And, I have no idea if potassium bicarbonate behaves the same was as sodium bicarbonate (now, I'm way over my head!).
 
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I have no evidence to support it, but firmly believe that salt has addictive properties... in that those who use it a lot need it to achieve the "taste" they are used to...

And that if most people stopped salting their foods for a month, and tried to do a low salt menu.... at the end of the month if they returned to previous levels they would call their food too salty.
 
I suppose this means all the rest of the cream of soups are just as doomed.

Yep....

Several manufacturers are making lower sodium soups, but sodium is not always the only "bad" thing in canned soups. And as we Americans age, we really need to be mindful of what's in what we eat, if we want to be lhealthy. Doesn't mean we can't eat well and deliciously, just have to be more aware.
 
I have lots of beloved recipes that call for undiluted cream soup (I'm from MN by the way ;) ). I love the idea of making my own, but how do you substitute home made soup for condensed soup?? There would be too much liquid! Does anyone have a way to make cream soup thick like it comes in the can?
 
Yes, there is way too much sodium in everything processed, including cereal and cookies. I have been trying to cut down on salt, but it is a long an slow process.
As far as home made soup. They add starch to canned soups to make it thick. You can do the same.
 
I have lots of beloved recipes that call for undiluted cream soup (I'm from MN by the way ;) ). I love the idea of making my own, but how do you substitute home made soup for condensed soup?? There would be too much liquid! Does anyone have a way to make cream soup thick like it comes in the can?

Skittle, you would do that by making a bechamel or white sauce. Alternatively, you could make a veloute, If you want mushroom you would saute some first and make your sauce over that.
 

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