On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:32:11 +0000 (UTC), Steve Pope wrote:

> jt august > wrote:
>
>>A co-worker was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I persuaded him to
>>go with his doctor's salt free diet requirement, and after three months,
>>he now finds food as good as ever, and fast foods are so salty it "salt
>>burns" his tongue. It was simply a matter of getting past his salt
>>addiction.
>
> "Addiction" is not the exact right word, but one definitely
> develops salt tolerance as one eats more salt, to the point
> where food does not taste right unless highly salted.
>
> Restaurants tend to over-salt because if a person is used
> to eating say one gram of sodium per day, and the
> person is served a savory restaurant item that contains
> two grams of sodium in just that item, and the person
> has a relatively unsophisticated palate, they may be tricked into
> thinking the item tastes really good, merely because
> of the salt. Whereas more discerning diners may be able
> to factor out the salt level and evaluate the dish for
> what it is.
>
> So restaurants, I think, aim for food that is saltier than
> their customers' typical salt tolerance.
>
> Steve

i think i would argue with the word 'tricked.' if it tastes good to them,
it tastes good to them. you may think their palate unsophisticated, but i
don't think they've been duped in any way.

your pal,
blake