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The day I realized I was over-salting every batch of pasta water
I’ve been cooking for like 8 years and always salted my pasta water until it tasted like the sea, figuring that was the rule. Then last Tuesday a line cook at the new spot I’m at grabbed a spoonful and said ‘dude, this is basically brine, you’re ruining the sauce balance.’ He pulled out a measuring spoon and showed me he uses exactly 1 tablespoon for every 4 quarts, and now I feel like I’ve been lying to myself this whole time. So which camp are you in, heavy salt till it’s ocean-level or measured and precise?
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val_bailey661mo ago
My buddy swore by the 'taste like the sea' rule for years, then ruined a fancy risotto night because the broth he used was already salty... he just laughed and said the dish was 'aggressively seasoned' now.
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the_fiona1mo ago
...then there was my friend Mark who did the exact same thing with clam juice in a paella. He kept saying "it needs to taste like the ocean" and dumped half the bottle in. We ate it anyway, every bite tasted like we licked a pier at low tide. He still brings it up as a "learning experience" but I'm pretty sure we all got mild sodium poisoning that night.
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