Why does everything have so much salt?

Energize

Energize

Energize

Caporegime
Joined
12 Mar 2004
Posts
29,960
Location
England
It seems that savoury food these days has far too much salt in it. I can't stand eating Tuc and Ritz crackers for example, they contain 80mg and 100mg of salt per cracker respectively. And Seabrook's plain crisps contain 500mg per packet, not far off seawater at 1000mg. They are inedible.

Yet the strange thing is, year on year crisps taste worse and worse, Walkers, McCoy's et al seem to have less flavouring and overall taste than they ever did. The exception seems to be Doritos which still have loads of flavouring on them. Does anyone else feel the same way?
 
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TheCenturion said:
I partially agree with you.

I was going to post about how salt is a great preservative, but you mainly talk about crisps.
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Yeah I understand the purpose of salt as a preservative and I actually like Heinz beans for example which have a fair bit of salt in them, but the level of salt in many crackers and crisps renders them inedible to me, it seems that inordinate amounts are added.

I think I'm going to take to making my own crisps.
 
I don't eat those sorts of food so wouldn't know. I add lots of salt to my cooking though, especially veg.

Maybe they add the extra salt to enhance the flavour and stimulate the taste buds so you eat more/buy more, a lot of processed foods also contain other flavour enhancers such as MSG which taste salty.
 
Probably to mask the disgusting tastes of the various artificial preservatives they use in most foods like titanium dioxide :S.

As for salt and sugar causing you to retain water, both true, albiet working on different areas of the body. High salt causes your kidneys to retain water via osmosis to dilute it in your blood whilst high sugar levels pulls water across via osmosis in your colon. Its why lactulose, which is basically 99% sugar water stops diarrhea due to pulling the water out of it in your large intestine :o

The only really disturbing thing I find when it comes to high levels of salt in food is when people put even more salt on it at the table before they eat it. My nana gets these cornish pasties which have a few grams of salt in each of them, then does the aforementioned to them, + pepper. Overkill really.
 
Because so many people seem to have lost their tastebuds recently. I can't stand salt on much at all (in fact very rarely use it), most of the crisp flavours are way overpowering and most salted crisps are inedible as you say. Would love some really chunky crisps with less salt on!
 
Energize said:
Yet the strange thing is, year on year crisps taste worse and worse, Walkers, McCoy's et al seem to have less flavouring and overall taste than they ever did. The exception seems to be Doritos which still have loads of flavouring on them. Does anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

Its because they continually reduce the fat content and try to replace it with more stuff like pepper :(
 
I tend to avoid (actively or otherwise) foodstuffs with (sodium) salt anyway, so I can't really empathise with your predicament.

I much prefer to add it if needed afterwards.
 
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