Oh No! The Soup or Sauce is Bitter/Salty

When Your Soup or Sauce Taste Bitter or Salty:  I bet there’s been a time when you followed an award winning recipe to the letter; you carefully measured each and every ingredient and yet , when you tasted it, your mouth cringed in horror.  Don’t panic and don’t toss it out because there are a few tricks that can counteract the bitter/salty taste and set things right.

• Bitter Taste:Try adding a PINCH of salt and letting it simmer a few minutes before tasting.  Add a TINY bit more if needed.
• Bitter Taste:If the salt did not alter the flavor to your liking, then add a SMALL amount of either brown/white sugar or honey.  Add a small amount more if needed.  (This works best for green vegetable or tomato soups/sauces)
• Salty Taste:If you used pre-packaged ingredients which contain sodium and then added your own salt, you may find the taste too salty.  To counter the salt, add a SMALL amount of either brown/white sugar or honey.  Add a small amount more if needed.
• Salty Taste:Peel and chop one to three potatoes (depending on quantity of soup) into 2” chunks.  Add to the soup and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove and discard the potato chunks prior to serving.
• Bitter Taste:Add aromatic vegetables such as onions and garlic.  Allow them time to cook so their natural oils and flavors will release into your soup/sauce.
• Bitter Taste:If the salt and sugar did not work, add a SMALL amount of olive oil or butter to the soup/sauce.  The oil will coat your tongue and help cover up the bitterness (personally this is my last resort)
• Bitter Taste with Cream Based Soup/Sauces:Simply add more cream to dilute the bitterness or salty taste.

What Can Cause the Bitter Taste?: 

• ALCOHOL – If you are cooking with alcohol and it is bitter after the alcohol has burned off, try adding more stock/broth prior to using the steps above.
• HERBS& SPICES – Many of these will grow bitter the longer they simmer. Use sparingly until you know how your taste buds will react to them.  Add your black pepper or peppercorns the last 5-10 minutes of cooking because this can easily turn any soup/sauce bitter.
• GARLIC – Fresh garlic is very intense in flavor so use sparingly. If the cloves have a green center, remove prior to pressing as these are extremely bitter.  If you are not comfortable with fresh garlic then substitute 2 teaspoons of garlic powder for every clove (again try adding in small amounts until you are satisfied with the flavor)
• VEGETABLES – Many vegetables like celery and leeks will turn bitter if they are overcooked. Try adding them the last 30 minutes of cooking.
• GREENS – Set a timer so you don’t simmer greens for longer than 1 hour. Any longer and they can become bitter.

NOTE:  Make your soups and sauces in small batches and keep a journal so you can annotate what you used and the exact amount.  In addition you can alter the recipe to incorporate some of the tips above so they are simply part of your standard recipe.  Remember:  Practice makes perfect!

Bad Fats

Saturated fats can raise the level of cholesterol in your blood which increases your risk for heart disease and stroke.  The American Heart Association recommends no more than 5% to 6% of your total daily calories should come from saturated fat.  In general you should eat everything in moderation because some foods produce saturated fats naturally and they are also the same foods that are healthy for you because they contain Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats.

• Animal meats
• Dairy products
• Fats and oils
• Select leaner cuts of meat and trim excess fat where possible.  Remove the skin from chicken to cut down on the fat intake.

**Select low fat version if possible

Trans fat is also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and is formed through an industrial process that adds hydrogen gas to vegetable oil. Many doctors believe this to be the worst of all the fats.  Since Trans fat is less likely to spoil and foods have a much longer shelf life you will find it in many of the following:

• Vegetable Shortening
• Nondairy coffee creamers
• Refrigerator dough such as canned biscuits, cinnamon rolls, pastry dough
• Potato chips, cookies, crackers, pancake mix, ready-made frosting, candy bars

NOTE:  Prior to placing a product in your cart, turn to the nutrition label to see if it contains Trans Fat and then look at the list of ingredients for the term ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oil’ which means there is less than 0.5 grams per serving so they do not have to list it under fats.  Pretty sneaky!!

White Foods

What is Meant by ‘White Foods’?: The term white foods refers to processed and refined foods that are white in color from being bleached to remove the milled yellow color and increase the amount of gluten the flour can produce. These foods include: flour, pasta, bread, crackers, rice, cereal, table sugar and corn syrup; these are known as ‘Bad Carbs’. The term White Foods does not include natural unprocessed white foods like potatoes, cauliflower, onions, turnips, etc.

The difference between refined white foods and their healthier counterparts known as ‘Good Carbs’ like wheat flour, wheat pasta, etc., is the processing and fiber. The majority of white flour has been ground and refined by stripping off the outer layers where the fiber is located. Vitamins and minerals are generally added back to enrich the refined products. Their healthier counterparts have the natural fiber, vitamins and minerals left intact.

Bad Carbs are less satisfying and we tend to over-eat them. Our bodies absorb the processed grains and simple sugars quickly and in one to two hours after eating we are hungry again. However, Good Carbs are higher in volume and tend to be more filling so we stay fuller longer and eat less.

NOTE: Don’t buy products simply because the label says Wheat; read the ingredients and verify it is not made with white flour but whole grain flour.