On Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:50:38 -0500, piedmont > wrote:

>Is seasoning a crutch?
>
>For most of my life I had a love affair with salt. Regardless of
>vegetable or meat I immediately salted and salted heavily. Until of
>recent years I have 'come off' the salt addiction.
>
>Which got me thinking about how much seasoning is acceptable and doesn't
>take away from the flavor of the meat I'm Q'n.
>
>Are we overloading our Q to the point of losing out on the natural
>flavor of the meat?

I cut back salt use many years ago. It takes about two weeks to shake
the addiction, but then food tastes great with little or no salt
added. Some foods, like potato, are bland and can use a sprinkle, but
most foods need none.

We use a variety of seasonings, but nothing overpowering. Pepper and
garlic are two often used. From there, other seasonings are added to
give the desired enhancement to the food.

Once I started making my own sausage, I found most commercial products
to be too salty. Processors use it because it is cheap and most
people today have a high tolerance and need a large quantity on the
taste buds.

I recall a fellow at work discussing baby back ribs. He said "the
ribs have not taste, the flavor is in the sauce". I had to give him
some of my naked smoked ribs to prove him wrong. People just don't
know.