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In ‘Longer Tables with José Andrés‘, the restaurateur and founder of World Central Kitchen uses the platform to hold general interest dialogues with other innovators in gastronomy, art and politics, which is also very useful for those amateur cooks who want to learn from his talent. In the last episode, José Andrés was in charge of giving useful tips to the audience about Christmas evenings.
One of the people called in to ask him about a global culinary element: salt. ‘I’ve watched a lot of cooking competitions and I’ve noticed that the most common criticism of dishes is that they simply need more salt. When I cook, I worry about adding too much salt and creating a dish that tastes too salty,’ and then asked, ‘So my question is this: how do you know when it’s enough salt? And is there any other seasoning that can substitute for it?’
The fan also noted: ‘I ask this question because, of course, I want my dishes to taste good, but also, as we get older, we are told to reduce our salt intake.’
José Andrés responded with the following: ‘Add more spices. Play with the spices. The hundreds and hundreds of spices you have at your fingertips. Just play until you find the one that excites your taste buds every time you put it in. I like black pepper, but make sure it’s fresh and very fine. And it’s a good substitute for salt’.
Even more surprisingly, the podcast host also suggests using an ingredient that is not a spice to boost flavor in cooking: sesame seeds. He points out that toasted sesame seeds are an ideal way to intensify the flavor of vegetables.
