How do I use salt properly in cooking?

Why different salts are not interchangeable by volume, when to add it, and what it actually does beyond tasting salty.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 15 min
Read: 3 min

Short answer

Season in layers throughout cooking rather than once at the end, and note that a teaspoon of table salt is roughly twice as salty as a teaspoon of flaky salt. Salt does far more than add saltiness — it draws out moisture and amplifies other flavours.

Salt is the most important seasoning and the most misunderstood. It suppresses bitterness, enhances sweetness and makes other flavours perceptible. Under-seasoning is the most common single fault in home cooking.

What you'll need

Fine salt for cooking (optional)
Flaky salt for finishing (optional)

Step by step

Understand that salts are not interchangeable by volume.Fine table salt is dense; flaky sea salt is not. A teaspoon of table salt can be twice as salty as a teaspoon of flakes. Weigh, or adjust deliberately.
Season in layers as you cook.A little with the onions, a little with the liquid, adjust at the end. Layered seasoning tastes integrated; a single late correction tastes like salt sitting on top.
Salt pasta and vegetable water properly.Around 10g per litre. It is the only opportunity to season the food itself rather than the surface, and unsalted water gives bland results however you finish it.
Salt meat before cooking, not after.Salt on the surface draws moisture out and then back in, seasoning the meat and helping it retain moisture. Either just before, or well ahead and patted dry.
Use a pinch of salt in sweet things.It suppresses bitterness and amplifies sweetness. A baked good with no salt tastes flat, which is why every cake recipe includes it.
Taste at serving temperature.Very hot food tastes less salty than warm food, and cold food needs more seasoning than hot. Judging a scalding spoonful leads to over-salting.
Use flaky salt as a finish, not for cooking.Its value is the texture and the burst of salinity on the surface. Dissolved into a stew it is an expensive way to buy sodium chloride.
Season, then wait, then taste again.Salt takes a moment to dissolve and distribute. Tasting immediately after adding leads to adding more than you needed.

Tips

If a dish tastes flat but you have salted it, it usually needs acid rather than more salt. That is the most common misdiagnosis.
Ingredients like stock cubes, soy sauce, bacon, olives and parmesan carry a lot of salt. Add them before deciding on seasoning.
For anyone reducing salt for health reasons, acid, herbs and umami make a low-salt dish taste considerably better than salt alone would suggest.

Common mistakes

Seasoning only at the end — The salt sits on the surface rather than being absorbed. Layered seasoning during cooking tastes noticeably more integrated.
Swapping salts by volume — Table salt is much denser than flakes. A recipe developed for one and made with the other by the spoonful can be twice as salty.
Adding more salt when a dish tastes flat — If salt is not fixing it, the dish usually needs acid. Continuing to add salt makes it salty and still flat.

Questions people ask

When should I add salt when cooking?

In layers throughout — a little at each stage — then adjust at the end. Single late seasoning tastes like salt on the surface rather than seasoning through the dish.

Is sea salt better than table salt?

Not chemically — both are essentially sodium chloride. Flaky sea salt is better as a finishing salt for its texture, but for cooking the main difference is density, which affects how much a spoonful contains.