Enhancing Flavors without Salt

The following ideas will help you enhance the flavor of a variety of foods without using salt. After trying these techniques, you’ll agree that the best things in life are still salt free.

• To remove oils and salty liquids, drain canned salmon, tuna, or sardines. Then add water to the can and drain again to rinse.
• Toast seeds, nuts and whole spices to bring out their full flavor. Cook them in a dry skillet over moderate heat or on a baking sheet in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven.
• Roasting vegetables in a hot oven will caramelize their natural sugars.
• Pound garlic, chilies and fresh herbs and spices with a mortar and pestle to release their flavor.
• Use citrus zest. The zest is the part of the peel without the white pith; it holds the true flavor of the fruit. Either grate it with a flat, sheet-type grater or remove it with a vegetable peeler and then cut the piece into thin strips.
• Grate fresh ginger with a flat, sheet type grater. Use a food processor to grate fresh horseradish, which packs more punch than the salted, bottle kind.
• Use fresh herbs instead of dried when possible. Chop and add them at the last moment for fresher, more “alive” taste.
• Add dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary and marjoram for more pungent flavor, but use them sparingly.
• Sprinkle vinegar or citrus juice for a wonderful flavor or enhancer, but add it at the last moment. Vinegar is wonderful on vegetables such as greens, citrus on fruits such as cantaloupe. Either is great on fish.
• Use dry mustard or salt-free mustard. Mix the dry mustard with water to make a very sharp condiment. You can also found bottled, salt-free mustard that’s just as powerful as the kind that contains salt.
• For a little more “bite,” add fresh hot peppers to your dishes. Remove the membrane and seeds before finely chopping. They are fine raw, and a small amount goes along.
• Vegetables and fruits are easy to season without salt. Fill an herb shaker with a combination of fresh herbs and spices. Use that in place of a salt shaker.
• Some vegetables and fruits, such as mushrooms, tomatoes, chilies, cherries, cranberries, and currants, impart a more intense flavor when dried than fresh. Add if they are soaked in water and reconstituted, you get as a bonus a natural “broth” to work with.
• Buy the best and freshest whole spices and grind them in a spice grinder. You’ll taste a big difference.