Salt can be your best friend in the kitchen. It brings forward and enhances flavours, taking a dish from drab to vibrant with just a pinch. But what do you do when you’ve lovingly tended and seasoned a dish and you realize that you’ve added way too much salt? The panic is real.
Firstly, take a deep breath and put down that box of salt! There are lots of ways to rescue over-salted food.
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Here are your best options for fixing over-salted food:
1.Make More of Your Recipe
Let’s start with the most obvious: make more. If you have enough ingredients, double the recipe or make more by half, then mix it in with the salty batch a bit at a time until you’ve reached your desired flavour.
2. Bulk Up Your Dish
Bulk up the dish with more of any quick-cooking main ingredients you have, such as vegetables from your crisper drawer. I’ll often add handfuls of greens to dishes with too much salt.
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3. Add a Starch
Stir in some cooked (unsalted) rice, barley, quinoa, pasta or couscous. These salt-thirsty ingredients will absorb quite a bit from a sauce. Depending on the dish, simmer or bake it with a splash of liquid to meld the flavours and allow the grains to absorb the excess salt. If it’s a soup, curry or other saucy dish, you can add large chunks of potato to soak up excess salt, then discard once tender.
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4. Dilute Your Dish With Liquid
With this option, you just want to be careful not to dilute all the hard-earned flavours as well as the salt, so don’t reach straight for water. Opt instead for unsalted broth, some unsalted diced tomatoes, or a splash of cream or wine. Make sure you’re adding something that will add to the flavour and not dilute the dish.
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5. Add an Acid
Whether it’s lemon juice or a mild vinegar like rice vinegar, a squeeze or light drizzle can help cut and mask over-salted food (there is a reason salt and vinegar chips work well together).
6. Last Step: Re-Season, But Not With Salt!
If you’ve mitigated the saltiness by adding liquids or other ingredients, you’ll likely need to bolster the other seasonings so you don’t end up with a perfectly salted but otherwise underwhelming dish. Ground spices and fresh herbs can be added directly, but things like garlic, onions, ginger and whole spices won’t be very tasty if added raw. Here’s the golden secret: borrow a fantastic cooking trick from India called a “tarka” — aromatics such as onions, spices and garlic are sautéed separately and added to the dish at the last minute. The methodis like magic, adding a ton of flavour as a final step.
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FAQs
Add an Acidic Ingredient
It won't reduce the sodium level of your dish, but adding an acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or even a tomato product, can neutralize the saltiness of a dish. Start with a dash or a squeeze, stir well to combine, and give it a taste before adding any more.
How do you fix too much salt in food? ›
Add an Acidic Ingredient
It won't reduce the sodium level of your dish, but adding an acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or even a tomato product, can neutralize the saltiness of a dish. Start with a dash or a squeeze, stir well to combine, and give it a taste before adding any more.
How do you rescue a dish that is too salty? ›
Lemon or lime juice or vinegar are all acidic and will tame the salt taste. Adding a creamy or fat component like yoghurt, sour cream or butter (unsalted) will also help to reduce overly salted flavours in your dish. With all of these methods, it is important to taste the dish while you attempt to fix it.
How do you fix too much salt in stew? ›
Fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or thyme can help to mask the saltiness of soup, too. Add a small amount of fresh herbs to the soup and stir until well combined. Acidic ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, or tomatoes can also help to reduce the saltiness of soup.
What to do after eating too much salt? ›
How to Feel Better After You Eat Too Many Salty Foods
- Drink More Water. Hydration is extremely important. ...
- Increase Your Potassium Intake. Potassium plays a vital role in maintaining fluid balance. ...
- Get Moving. ...
- Put Down the Salt Shaker.
“The body naturally removes sodium through sweat, tears and urine.” To even out your sodium level, get sweaty by exercising or sitting in a sauna. Drink plenty of fluids and cut out salt and salty foods right away.
Does putting a potato in soup reduce salt? ›
Like in the myth, a potato will absorb salt until the salt level inside the starchy tuber matches the salt level in the soup. Remove the potato, and you remove some of the salt. If you want to remove half the salt, you'd need to drop in potatoes equal in volume to the entire batch of stew!
How to fix over salted mashed potatoes? ›
Add salt while you're mixing, and taste as you go. If you find your potatoes are too salty, adding more liquid, such as milk or buttermilk, or more potatoes can help tone it down. No more potatoes on hand? Try adding some mashed cauliflower or root vegetables to the mix.
How to fix salty baked mac and cheese? ›
Acid: Adding vinegar or lemon juice does a great job of balancing saltiness. Sweetness: You can also add a dash of honey or sugar. Opposites attract here and create balance. Fat: Another fix is adding some fat, a few pads or butter or a healthy glug of olive oil can absorb some of that saltiness.
Does adding a raw potato absorb salt? ›
According to Wolke, while the potato does absorb some of the liquid and therefore tastes salty itself as a result, it doesn't actually remove excess salt any more than dipping in a dry kitchen sponge would. It just becomes saltwater-logged.
When your rice is too salty:
- Add more unsalted rice to dilute the saltiness.
- Rinse the rice under cold water to remove surface salt.
- Cook more unsalted rice and mix it in.
- Use a potato to absorb some salt, then remove it.
- Add dairy or cream to balance the saltiness.
- Add more ingredients like vegetables or protein.
First, make sure you drink sufficient amounts of water to help your body regain its desired sodium-to-water ratio ( 2 , 7 ). You can also try eating foods that are rich in potassium, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dairy.
What vitamin deficiency causes you to crave salt? ›
1. FIRST-- let's look at the vitamins and minerals you need as part of a healthy diet: Calcium and Magnesium: Low levels of these two minerals—which often go hand in hand—prime you for sugar and salt cravings.
What drink is high in sodium? ›
Drinks that can help raise your sodium levels include sports drinks that contain electrolytes, like Gatorade. You can also drink broth or bouillon, which is high in sodium, or tomato juice, which is a good source of sodium.
Does sugar cancel out salt? ›
So, if you've added just a pinch of extra salt, you can add a pinch of sugar to balance it out. It's a calculated move, therefore, if your recipe is really salty, you should refrain from using this trick as you can end up with a weird sugary dish.
Does lemon reduce salt in food? ›
Lemon Juice
The juice has a strong presence of acidity that allows it to cut through the saltiness of most meals and as such, a balance is created. This method of reduction works best when the meal does not have too much sodium.
