How to Fix Salty Food

What do you do if you over-salt food? Is your dinner already ruined, or can you fix this problem with too salty food just by following several simple steps? Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee you a 100% successful result. There are such products as, for example, pasta, where you can do almost nothing that will not compromise its taste and in the end, probably, you are going to cook pasta once again. On the other hand, there are such recipes, where adding too much salt is not even a problem, and the fix does not require much effort.

Here is my list of the most common ways how to remove excess salt depending on the type of product/dish you are cooking. See what to do if you add too much salt:

• Meat or fish. To counteract adding too much salt to meat and fish, you can try freshly squeezed lemon juice. Simply add several drops to fix the overly salty taste. If you have too much salt in minced meat, you should add grated potato, summer squash/zucchini. Even blended onion will be a suitable option.
• Soups. It is the easiest dish, where you can still fix things up and the first thing to understand is that the solution depends on the type of soup you are cooking. If your soup is too salty, pouring extra boiled water into the broth is the easiest option that comes to mind. If you over-salt creamy soup, just pour more cream. If the level of saltiness is slightly above the desired one, sprinkle a pinch of sugar. You can add whole vegetables (carrot and potato being the best option). Before adding a vegetable to the soup, simply make sure to clean it and peel. Do not forget to get rid of it before it overcooks. And the final solution to get rid of the salty taste is rice. Take a pouch of rice, let it cook for 10 minutes in the soup broth, and then get rid of it.
• Vegetables. Add cubed potato or several parsley twigs to remove excess salt from a vegetable stew and gravy. In addition to being a great salt absorber, it will add a mouth-watering aroma to your dish. You can get rid of these ingredients when you achieve the wanted result.
• Mushrooms. I decided to single out mushrooms into a separate category, as there are two specific ways to get rid of the salty taste that suits mushroom dishes the most. If you are sautéing mushrooms on the stove, add sour cream or heavy cream, and you will get a delicious side dish. You can also pour half a cup of water with two tablespoons of lemon juice mixed in.
• Salads. My advice for salads will be the most visible one. To neutralize the level of saltiness in salads, you can add more of the ingredients that you have used before. You can also change the dressing for the salad in favor of sour cream/yogurt-based ones.
• Mashed potato. Do not worry too much if you over-salt water for boiling potatoes. When potatoes cook through, drain all the water out of the pot. Pour milk, use the amount according to the recipe, then add butter, and beat in a fresh egg. If you follow these recommendations, you will not have too much salt in your side dish.
• Boiled grains. If I add too much salt when boiling grains, I follow several simple steps to get rid of the extra saltiness. Rinse cooked grain under cold running water using a colander or a sieve; put it once again into the pot and pour some boiled water; add a tablespoon of butter and wait until all the added water cooks of on the low heat.
• Pilaf. It is in a separate category, as the solutions for over-salted rice in a pilaf recipe are very particular. First, you can try adding steamed raisins (as some recipes of pilaf, in any case, have raisins as an ingredient). You also have an option to add separately cooked unsalted rice to mix it with the salted rise in the pot.
• Pasta and spaghetti. It is quite a rare thing to over-salt pasta, as you should cook pasta in nicely salted water. And unfortunately, there is no perfect way to draw excessive salt out of cooked spaghetti that won’t impact its form and texture. You can try rinsing pasta under cold running water. Or you can add your cooked pasta to a pot with boiling water, let it boil for several minutes, and then drain all the water. However, you will not have perfect al dente pasta for dinner.
• Sauces (and salad dressings). To neutralize salt in tomato sauce, try adding brown sugar in portions while constantly tasting the dish to check the result. To fix over-salted creamy sauce, you can pour extra cream into the skillet if you have any left. Brown sugar is also a possible option for creamy sauces. Light sauces for dressing salads will benefit from using freshly squeezed lemon juice.

If you enjoyed my article, do not forget to share it with your friends!

I think that you now understand how to remove salt from food. I hope that all my tips on how to counteract too much salt in food were reasonable and you found a way to solve your problem with an over-salted dish. If you have your way of solving such a problem with any product, please, share it with everybody and leave a comment below on how to make something less salty.