The Blessing or Seasoning Food Before Tasting

Hi,

My maternal grandparents always began a meal by blessing their food: salt and pepper were added before any tasting. I would irritate them big time by serving dinner at our home without the salt and pepper present. When they asked for it, then I would bring it only once they tasted the food. I know it was obnoxious, but I really wanted them to taste the composition before their ritual began. A few times they dropped their request because the food was really quite good without the additional seasoning.

Years ago I read an article on how people are evaluated for potential jobs during a meal. Once a meal is presented and yet untasted, the recipient grabs condiments to adjust their food. This candidate is assumed to jump to conclusions. It is far better to taste the food first, then adjust it to your taste.

Recently I watched soup untasted have soy sauce and chilis added. I was then offered a sample of the improved broth. I was really half tempted to return the favor by allowing them to sample the untampered broth. Later when the shrimp fried rice arrived, this person added additional soy sauce and sweet sauce to the untasted food. I guess I am missing the talent to taste with my eyes.

There was a restaurant in Washington, D.C. where the Chef did not allow condiments on the table. They also did not respond well to little changes to a dish requested by patrons. Apparently the Chef would come out to the dining room to argue on behalf of trying the dish as suggested on the menu. I have the recollection, though I couldn't find something to support this, she simply declined to make the changes.

While I would like the Chef to consider some changes or substituions, I am certainly in the camp of taste your food first before considering adjustments. Where do you sit on this issue?

Regards,

Isn't there a story out there about Marco Pierre White throwing someone out of his restaurant for requesting salt?

I'm a firm believer that you should taste the food as it's presented. It gives you a good idea of the chef's personal notion of seasoning.

When I'm reviewing a restaurant, I always eat it the way I get it, even if I think it could use a little salt, just so I can say I ate the chef's food the way he intended and be able to comment on that rather than how it tastes after I adulterate it.

On the other hand, maybe there are people out there whose taste buds are so desensitized or dull that they really need the salt to be able to enjoy anything.

I learned early on that adding salt without tasting can result in almost inedible food, if the food is already heavily salted. The only thing I don't taste before I start adding stuff is pho, because I know I want all those goodies in my soup. But I do taste early and often in the process of making condiment additions. On second thought -- two things -- I'll add green sauce to an El Famous Burrito before I taste the burrito. But on the whole, I find that in any really good restaurant, the food doesn't need salt, and in places where salt is needed, it's still best to taste first.

And the comment about White throwing out the person who asked for salt reminds me of the famous scene in "Saratoga Trunk" where Gary Cooper asks, in a French restaurant, "Where's the ketchup?"

I started to say, "There's only one thing I season without tasting" but I keep remembering more:

1) (European) Soup. There isn't a soup out there that doesn't benefit from a little more black pepper. Prior to the passing of a couple of great-aunts, there were fights for saltshakers because our holiday chicken soup was always prepared to be sodium-restricted friendly, but that doesn't happen anymore. Why European? I'd never consider this for Pho, Ramen or other Japanese noodle soups, Tom Kha, etc.

2) Hot pepper flakes on pizza. Hi, I'm Joel, and I'm a capsasicin addict.
(Hi Joel!)

3) Salsa. I don't really count this, it's like tasting your salad before deciding to use dressing: it's part of the food, just supplied separately

4) Parmesan cheese on pasta: It depends on the dish, but it's another thing that's expected

5) Ketchup for french fries. Nuff said.

I think the Washington restaurant you mentioned is Colorado Kitchen, a homey-diner type place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dy ... id=1066403

I remember that 15 years ago when I lived in Atlanta, the hot new restaurant (which I couldn't afford to go to and thus don't remember the name) refused its patrons condiments as well - absolutely. I was tickled when soon after, the Tracy Ullman showdid a sketch about that kind of place.

I do agree that you ought to taste your food first, although I'm guessing, due to the fact that I frequently find food under or oversalted, tastes must vary widely. One of my personal pet peeves is mid-range restaurants that don't salt pasta; if you don't salt it as it cooks, there's no way to correct the seasoning at the table.

However, this thread brings to mind professional cooks who don't taste the food (wasn't this mentioned here in an Indian thread: vegetarian cooks preparing chicken?) Though I'm still agreeing with Cathy in terms of food that's been served to you, these cooks indicate that there must be some relationship between seasoning and the other senses.

teatpuller wrote:I think the Washington restaurant you mentioned is Colorado Kitchen, a homey-diner type place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dy ... id=1066403

I just might be. The article I read was in the late 80's or early 90's. In my mind's eye I had the impression it was French bistro type place. Certainly on the same wavelength as the article I recall.

***

I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasoned. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

We did have a young man from Czech Republic who visited us to brush up on his English. I made Spaghetti Carbonara. Without tasting it he adorned it with bottled tartare sauce to our utter surprise. When he realized everyone stopped eating to watch this, he commented, "Everyone in Prague does this!" Everyone we knew in Prague did not. This young man had a number of food rituals with other condiments, too. I met him again a few years ago to find he eats what is presented to him without fuss now.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: I made Spaghetti Carbonara. Without tasting it he adorned it with bottled tartare sauce to our utter surprise.

That's pretty strange, but I find the fact that you happened to have bottled tartare sauce on the table when serving spaghetti carbonara to be an utter surprise.

Cathy2 wrote:I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasonsed. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

Unseasoned eggs are probably the biggest culinary crime of the century.

When I first met my husband, he would put liberal amounts of hot sauce on his food before even tasting it. Once I tried his mother's cooking, I understood why.

I gradually weaned him off that practice and now he at least tastes a bite of what I am serving him before garnishing it with condiments or adding extra salt.

I have noticed when serving at our local PADS shelter that most of the guests pour hot sauce on whatever is being served without tasting it.

Suzy

jpschust wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasonsed. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

Unseasoned eggs are probably the biggest culinary crime of the century.

Yep. Right up there with unseasoned potatoes in my book.

I ate at Bar Americain when it first opened in NYC, and Bobby Flay allows no substitutions at all. We went for brunch and husband IIRC wanted bacon instead of tasso ham and they said no. As it turned out, he had to order a side of bacon. The ham was just too salty for him, and he had to pull it off.

I am from the school of taste it first, but there almost isn't a time when I don't add black pepper to a meal. Especially salads and pasta/macaroni dishes. I try and not make substitutions if at all possible. There is a reason the chef has prepared something the way he does. However, if there is a spice that is added as garnish I may have them leave it off, like tarragon, which I think ruins just about everything.

Bar Americain
152 W. 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
Tel. 212.265.9700 ©2007
http://www.baramericain.com/

eatchicago wrote:

jpschust wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasonsed. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

Unseasoned eggs are probably the biggest culinary crime of the century.

Yep. Right up there with unseasoned potatoes in my book.

I am a salt fiend, but I must say, with the kind of fresh eggs we've enjoyed recently, I hate to salt them because the flavor is so delicate even a little generic seasoning like that overwhelms them, and I find them immensely satisfying in their natural state.

I would have to check McGee, but I'm pretty sure that salting eggs while they're cooking (and I realize that's not being recommended here) is a way to toughen the proteins and make for a less delicate cooked egg.

since most dishes are seasoned for the masses regarding heat level. I always add some hot sauce to gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and etouffee's before taking a bite.

stevez wrote:

Cathy2 wrote: I made Spaghetti Carbonara. Without tasting it he adorned it with bottled tartare sauce to our utter surprise.

That's pretty strange, but I find the fact that you happened to have bottled tartare sauce on the table when serving spaghetti carbonara to be an utter surprise.

He walked to Sunset Foods to procure his supply.

We typically make it ourselves when we want it.

Regards,

David Hammond wrote:I would have to check McGee, but I'm pretty sure that salting eggs while they're cooking (and I realize that's not being recommended here) is a way to toughen the proteins and make for a less delicate cooked egg.

I just happen to have the book right here and looked it up..."diluting or sweetening eggs delays coagulation; salting or acidifying them accelerates it."

A counter point: I have been eating the hot and sour soup at Sun Wah for nigh on 20 years. It's very consistent and I add soy sauce and chili oil to it before I eat it but I have been doing this for so long I know pretty much exactly how much to add.

That's my exception though, I will taste the food before adjusting seasoning everywhere else.

Cathy2 wrote:
I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasoned. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

But there is actually biblical guidance for that: Job 6:6 -- "Is tasteless food eaten without salt?"

I'm with you, Cathy2. I realize that food often needs seasoning but it strikes me as ill-mannered to add seasoning without tasting the food.

I had a college-aged nephew who lived with me for a few years who grabbed his hot sauce and put it on everything right away. Not that my food was so terribly bland; he'd just gotten used to a pretty cranked-up level of heat. I mentioned once or twice that some cooks would be insulted by having someone add seasoning to their food without even tasting it first. But as I said, he was college-aged, so my comments fell on deaf ears.

Now I am married, and Sweet Baboo occasionally reaches for the ketchup or barbecue sauce without first tasting what I cooked, which I admit bugs me some, but I generally hold my tongue. I love him even more than the nephew. And he would say, I just love ketchup and barbecue sauce. How could something not be better with one of them added?

I grew up in a home with a dad with serious high blood pressure, and a mom who, as a consequence, did whatever she could to cut salt out of all our diets. So I'm accustomed to the bland side. To open up a roast beef sandwich and sprinkle some salt on the meat and enjoy the taste of it is a huge and uncommon indulgence for me. So I admit I'm surprised by people who just go salting everything heavily before they've even tasted it.

I guess, bottom line, it's just what you're used to.

To this DAY
Hubs often adds ketchup ALL over whatever I have lovingly slow roasted in appropriate seasoning (IMHO)
DRIVES ME CRAZY
At least if he would try a few bites say without ketchup-
I just don't think my potroast with cranberry mustard glaze and carmelized onions needs ketchup...
The chicken I have roasted with lemon and oregano gets doused in barbecue sauce....
sigh
he's an otherwise wonderful man
but if it were up to me I'd ban ketchup and bbq sauce unless we were eating burgers and ribs!

At our house growing up, it was a bit different.

We too started the meal with a blessing which either one of my two siblings or myself raced through at record speed. It went something like this:

GRACIOUSLORDMAKEUSTRULYTHANKFULFORTHESEANDOURMAYOTHERBLESSINGS.INJESUS'NAMEAMEN.

If our parents weren't around, we'd usually revert to the following hinting at the fact that all of us would likely end up agnostic as adults:

GOOODBREADGOODMEATGOODGODLETSEAT.INJESUSNAMEAMEN.


We were Presbyterian raised to believe that you should always pray in Jesus' name. My mom still insists on it to this day while we stare at each other open eyed across the table

Then, if we thought our food was underseasoned, we were told to shut up and eat it because the dog wouldn't find it underseasoned if we didn't like it.

Will,

In our house we sang the Johnny Appleseed song.

Regards,

My in-laws' too, Cathy; good song.

I do put salt on sunnyside eggs, because they come to the table unseasoned. Sometimes I will sneak in pepper, but salt is a must.

My provocateur statement of the evening: best sunnyside / over easy (they'll do it either way) in the city are at Seven Treasures, in the BBQ Pork and Fried Egg Over [Owwered, sic] Rice. They look unseasoned, but in all that griddle oil, are absolutely amazing.