Do you add salt

[jsharr ★]

to your oatmeal?

Mom did when I was a kid.  Just a bit.  Then I would add milk and sugar, and sometimes some raisins.  I would sprinkle the sugar, sometimes white, sometimes brown, evenly over the top then pour milk over so it make a little moat at the edge of the bowl.  Then the trick was to get some sugar and some milk in each bite.   That was breakfast on many a cold morning of my childhood!

So fast forward to today.  I was making my mid morning bowl of oatmeal at the office and I look over and see the fancy grinder of pink Himalayan salt and I grind a few twist of salt into the bowl.

It was nice that something as simple as a twist of salt could take me back to my childhood so easily.

So, do you, like my sainted mother, add salt to your oatmeal, or are you a saltless oatmeal heathen, deserving of my scorn and derision?

[sheep_herder ★]

No, as I don't eat oatmeal.

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

No, as I don't eat oatmeal.

Assuming you did eat oatmeal, you are the upstanding type of citizen that would add salt.  I know this to be true.*

*God Bless America is playing in the background as I type this.

[TrentonMakes]

Yes, but only a little bit.  It is really easy to add too much.  

I have trained myself to like oatmeal without any sweetener aside from raisins.  I like to put some walnuts in there too.  And yes, a dash of salt.

[jsharr ★]

Just now, TrentonMakes said:

Yes, but only a little bit.  It is really easy to add too much.  

I have trained myself to like oatmeal without any sweetener aside from raisins.  I like to put some walnuts in there too.  And yes, a dash of salt.

You sir are correct!  Just a dash!  God Bless you and your family for your wisdom.

[Road Runner]

I don't know how anyone can eat that gruel.  But I suppose salt couldn't hurt it.  

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Road Runner said:

I don't know how anyone can eat that gruel.  But I suppose salt couldn't hurt it.  

This is about what I expected from you.  Do you add salt to your grits?

[Road Runner]

31 minutes ago, jsharr said:

This is about what I expected from you.

An intelligent response?

I suppose oatmeal is an acceptable porridge if one is lacking in molars.  I imagine it is very popular in Texas.  

[goldendesign]

Let me further change your life (improvements only)

Do Overnight oats, it will open your eyes

Oh and I always add a pinch of sea salt to my oats.

[Zephyr]

No I do not.  Nor do I add sugar.  A handful of dried blueberries and a handful of dried cranberries into the mix and Bob's your uncle.

Salt in oatmeal is like putting beans in chili

[petitepedal ★]

A little bit of salt is good..the amount in processed food that is too much

[jsharr ★]

33 minutes ago, Angelic Zephyr said:

No I do not.  Nor do I add sugar.  A handful of dried blueberries and a handful of dried cranberries into the mix and Bob's your uncle.

Salt in oatmeal is like putting beans in chili

I will excuse your ignorance, as you are not an American, but a filthy foreigner.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

Irish or Scottish oatmeal, pinch of salt, maple syrup (I know a guy....) and raisins 

[ChrisL]

I bought a bag of steel cut oatmeal and make it in my rice cooker every now and again. The directions say to add a pinch of salt which I do. I can't say I taste the salt tho.  Once cooked I add a little milk and eat up.

I ate it daily for years and then couldn't stomach it for years...  Slowly working it back in my diet.

[Kzoo]

I add salt to the water I boil to make real oatmeal.  None of the microwave oatmeal crap.

[jsharr ★]

29 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

Irish or Scottish oatmeal, pinch of salt, maple syrup (I know a guy....) and raisins 

You sir, are a pillar of this forum, your community and a shining example of what I aspire to be.

[pedalphile]

Yes. It's the right thing to do. We call it porridge though.

[jsharr ★]

28 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I bought a bag of steel cut oatmeal and make it in my rice cooker every now and again. The directions say to add a pinch of salt which I do. I can't say I taste the salt tho.  Once cooked I add a little milk and eat up.

I ate it daily for years and then couldn't stomach it for years...  Slowly working it back in my diet.

Perhaps you need to a just a dash more salt.  It will make you a better person and attract job offers.

[jsharr ★]

22 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I add salt to the water I boil to make real oatmeal.  None of the microwave oatmeal crap.

That's nice.  I want to be kinder, but then again, no I don't.

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, pedalphile said:

Yes. It's the right thing to do. We call it porridge though.

I wish that the Canadians would learn from their betters.  You sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.

[pedalphile]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

I wish that the Canadians would learn from their betters.  You sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.

Salt: the original and best flavour enhancer.

[jsharr ★]

Just now, pedalphile said:

Salt: the original and best flavour enhancer.

I thought that was rum for you lot?

[MickinMD ★]

No salt added to oatmeal, just fruit and sometimes a little honey.

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, MickinMD said:

No salt added to oatmeal, just fruit and sometimes a little honey.

This saddens me, as I have always considered you a man of superior intellect and intelligence.

[MickinMD ★]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

"No salt added to oatmeal, just fruit and sometimes a little honey. "

This saddens me, as I have always considered you a man of superior intellect and intelligence.

Supposedly, when Thomas Edison was interviewing new engineers, he'd invite them to dinner. If they put salt on their food before tasting it he wouldn't hire them because they let habit overcome reason.

Since my habit is no salt, I guess I also let habit overcome reason. But the opposite way would mean the same. And I put salt on grapefruit. Now I'm totally confused.

[Kzoo]

19 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Supposedly, when Thomas Edison was interviewing new engineers, he'd invite them to dinner. If they put salt on their food before tasting it he wouldn't hire them because they let habit overcome reason.

I remember this being J.C. Penny.

I too lazy to Google it.

[Kzoo]

Just now, Kzoo said:

I remember this being J.C. Penny.

I too lazy to Google it.

I Googled it - had to.  I stand corrected.

 

[jsharr ★]

23 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Supposedly, when Thomas Edison was interviewing new engineers, he'd invite them to dinner. If they put salt on their food before tasting it he wouldn't hire them because they let habit overcome reason.

Since my habit is no salt, I guess I also let habit overcome reason. But the opposite way would mean the same. And I put salt on grapefruit. Now I'm totally confused.

 

2 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I remember this being J.C. Penny.

I too lazy to Google it.

 

1 minute ago, Kzoo said:

I Googled it - had to.  I stand corrected.

 

Or do you?  I still attribute this to urban myth.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/movers-and-salt-shakers/

[Wilbur ★]

yes

[Square Wheels]

no

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

no

I am pretty sure you are a commie subversive.  

[Square Wheels]

8 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I am pretty sure you are a commie subversive.  

Probably (however, I have no idea what that means).

[12string]

Interesting timing.  I was just reading an article this morning about why there are no salt shakers on the table at a good restaurant.

The chef spent years in training and years of experience and applied it to at least months of perfecting a recipe - so plebeians can dump cheap iodized sodium all over it.  Nope, if you don't like the food, order something else or eat elsewhere.

Of course, if after tasting the food and deciding it could use a bit of salt, you can request some, in which case it will more likely be real salt in a small bowl, not processed with old rice in a shaker.

My family has conditioned ourselves to not use much salt.  It will be added during cooking when called for, and then Kosher, Himalayan, truffle, some other more tasty salt.  We never add salt after cooking, unless I really messed up the recipe

[Wilbur ★]

8 minutes ago, 12string said:

Interesting timing.  I was just reading an article this morning about why there are no salt shakers on the table at a good restaurant.

The chef spent years in training and years of experience and applied it to at least months of perfecting a recipe - so plebeians can dump cheap iodized sodium all over it.  Nope, if you don't like the food, order something else or eat elsewhere.

Of course, if after tasting the food and deciding it could use a bit of salt, you can request some, in which case it will more likely be real salt in a small bowl, not processed with old rice in a shaker.

My family has conditioned ourselves to not use much salt.  It will be added during cooking when called for, and then Kosher, Himalayan, truffle, some other more tasty salt.  We never add salt after cooking, unless I really messed up the recipe

Ok, Chefs don't spend that long in training.  They learn their trade after school and hopefully under the supervision of someone with experience.  In the restaurant business, salt is the primary seasoning.  Literally everything is seasoned with salt.  Even salads are washed in salt water.   Restaurant meals are among the highest sodium foods anywhere.  Now they are offended that their burnt tastebuds aren't palatable to others?  

Sorry, I have a lot of experience in this area and the TV sensationalism of chefs has gone to their under educated heads. 

[BR46]

All this talk about oatmeal I decided that after my haircut I was going to get some Irish oatmeal.

I don't know about adding salt

[Randomguy]

10 hours ago, ChrisL said:

I bought a bag of steel cut oatmeal and make it in my rice cooker every now and again. The directions say to add a pinch of salt which I do. I can't say I taste the salt tho.  Once cooked I add a little milk and eat up.

I ate it daily for years and then couldn't stomach it for years...  Slowly working it back in my diet.

I think the salt is not so much for the taste, but for the ability to absorb water/cook it quicker.

10 hours ago, Kzoo said:

I add salt to the water I boil to make real oatmeal.  None of the microwave oatmeal crap.

Microwave oatmeal tastes wrong, the texture is all off.  It must be made on a stove top if it is being made correctly.  It also must not come in an envelope or be 'instant' in any way, that stuff is garbage.  

[Randomguy]

9 hours ago, pedalphile said:

Yes. It's the right thing to do. We call it porridge though.

I thought you called everything 'pudding'.  Why isn't it pudding?

[Wilbur ★]

Four bucks for a Murphy's?  Where is this heavenly place?  

[BR46]

4 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Four bucks for a Murphy's?  Where is this heavenly place?  

Sheboygan falls, Wisconsin 

[BR46]

I'll take you to a place just down the street for a Polka King Porter and a shot of Beem for the low low price of 5 dollars 

[tybeegb]

NOPE!  A tablespoon of honey.  A dash of 1/2 & 1/2.  And a banana.  

 

[12string]

20 hours ago, Wilbur said:

In the restaurant business, salt is the primary seasoning

define "chef" and "restaurant".  Or "cook" and "franchise".  I follow the "Applebee's Rule".  If a restaurant has pictures of their own food on the menu, don't eat there.  For about the same price, you can eat at a real restaurant. 

I use very little salt in my food, so I'm rather sensitive to salty foods. If they use much more salt than I do at home, it pretty obvious.   I've eaten at restaurants where the food is salty.  Once.  I don't go back because salty food isn't good food.  I don't doubt that they are using salt, but it's definitely not primary.

Maybe I'm spoiled between the Philly and NY restaurant scenes, but most of the places I go to have chefs that have spent years learning their craft.  Some are well known, or have trained under those highly respected chefs.

[Kzoo]

15 hours ago, Randomguy said:

On 5/17/2018 at 11:27 AM, Kzoo said:

I add salt to the water I boil to make real oatmeal.  None of the microwave oatmeal crap.

Microwave oatmeal tastes wrong, the texture is all off.  It must be made on a stove top if it is being made correctly.  It also must not come in an envelope or be 'instant' in any way, that stuff is garbage.  

You sir, are correct this one time.  It must come in a round box with a pic of a Quaker.

[Wilbur ★]

3 hours ago, 12string said:

define "chef" and "restaurant".  Or "cook" and "franchise".  I follow the "Applebee's Rule".  If a restaurant has pictures of their own food on the menu, don't eat there.  For about the same price, you can eat at a real restaurant. 

I use very little salt in my food, so I'm rather sensitive to salty foods. If they use much more salt than I do at home, it pretty obvious.   I've eaten at restaurants where the food is salty.  Once.  I don't go back because salty food isn't good food.  I don't doubt that they are using salt, but it's definitely not primary.

Maybe I'm spoiled between the Philly and NY restaurant scenes, but most of the places I go to have chefs that have spent years learning their craft.  Some are well known, or have trained under those highly respected chefs.

As someone who has owned several high end restaurant, on par with the best NYC or even the gastronomic capital, Philadelphia, I can assure you, salt IS the primary seasoning.  I also worked my way through college cooking in two very good restaurants.  I know commercial kitchens.  Even if the chopped their own garlic, it was chopped on a salted board.   

You can minimize it by not eating at Appleby's, Bonefish Grill etc and by attending the finer restaurants, but it is still there.