What's for Dinner, Sat., Sept. 11, 2021

[NJCher]

12. salt quandary

I always have to critique my cooking and think how I could improve. Do you do that?

Yes, I'm always looking to improve the dishes I make. Each time I make something I try to learn something new.

I don't know if you read yesterday's post where I was dissatisfied with a tomato soup. In that case, I made an absent-minded mistake and went overboard in another direction, trying to figure out what to do about this unexciting soup--when it was a very simple, obvious mistake. I forgot that fresh tomatoes need salt. I did salt the tomatoes (the amount of my fresh tomatoes was equivalent to a 48 oz can), but it was just a light sprinkle of salt.

I salted to taste after I figured out my error, but then I got curious as to how much salt manufacturers put in per cup, or how much would a 48 oz can require in teaspoons, according to the way U.S. canners added salt?

Except there's one problem in figuring this out: salt and sodium are not the same thing. Sodium is what is listed on the label. They don't tell you how much salt.

Cento, for example, has 115 g of sodium per half cup while Hunts has 121.

What I wanted to know is what is a good rule of thumb for fresh tomatoes/salt, for a soup or sauce.

So far the best I've been able to figure out is most recipes only require a about a teaspoon to every four cups of chopped tomatoes. Taste of Home is one of the recipes I looked at.

I still don't really have an answer, and I'm not sure how much it matters since I will salt to taste anyway.