"iodine" news and stories

Salt is an essential component of cooking and in a professional kitchen, chefs are lucky enough to have a sous-chef to offer a second taste opinion. Whenever I eat out, it's one of the things I notice right away, because both under- and over-seasoning ruin the dish for me.

According to a recently released study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, many restaurant chains are guilty of overloading their meals with salt, thus increasing millions of customers' risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, Nearly 85 percent of the adult-sized meals at 10 popular chain restaurants have more than the recommended daily limit for total sodium intake -- 2,300 milligrams, or roughly one teaspoon of table salt.

Most home cooks are keenly aware of the connection between excessive salt consumption and high blood pressure which results from the body's need to dilute high concentrations with additional water. As a result, home cooks tend to err on the side of caution and don't use enough salt to bring out the best of each dish.

So, how do you know if you're using enough salt?

Get Jennifer's smart seasoning and salt-busting tips after the jump.

No matter who you are, where you're from, or what your taste, a salt shaker lives on your table, your stovetop, or your counter. Perhaps all three. Salt is cheap and readily available. Hardly an item exists in your pantry that doesn't list it as an ingredient.

It's chemical name is "sodium chloride." Common table salt is produced by flooding salt deposits with water. The brine which results is then evaporated and the crystals are refined. Kosher salt is made similarly, though the brine is raked continually during evaporation. Sea salt is (obviously) evaporated from sea water. Certain varieties contain chemical additives that prevent clumping, allowing for free flow from shaker to your steak; iodine may also be added to prevent hypothyroidism in consumers. All salts are nutritionally equivalent, regardless of what type you decide to use.