Heard a line cook say 'salt is a timer, not a flavor' and it clicked

I was prepping veg in a kitchen in Austin and the sous chef told a new guy that. He meant salting onions right when they hit the pan starts the clock on how they cook. I tried it with a test batch of caramelized onions yesterday. The unsalted ones took almost 45 minutes to get soft and sweet, but the salted ones were done in under 30. It changes how you think about building a dish from the first step. Anyone else have a simple trick that changed how you time your cooking?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jake2mo ago

Jennyh55 saying it's like controlling the cooking speed from the start is so true. I learned this the hard way with zucchini. I used to always add salt at the end, and I'd wonder why my stir fry was a watery mess. Turns out I was basically just steaming everything in its own juice. Now I salt the zucchini first, let it sit for a few minutes, and pat it dry. It browns so much faster and actually gets some texture. Felt like a real "duh" moment for me.

jennyh552mo ago

Oh wow that's actually a huge deal for caramelized onions, 15 minutes is no joke. I do the same thing with mushrooms, salt them early and they give up their water way faster so they can actually brown. It's like you're not just seasoning, you're controlling the whole cooking speed from the start. Makes me wonder what other "timers" we're missing in the kitchen.

benflores2mo ago

Yeah totally. I started salting eggplant slices before roasting. Draws out the bitter moisture. Lets them get crispy instead of soggy. Cuts the cook time in half easy.