Making Less Salty Soups

One of the most common complaints for a soup is that it is too salty. When faced with a soup that is too salty, you have one of two choices: either deal with it, or learn how to make a less salty soup. Making less salty soups is a fairly easy task, as long as you keep a few things in mind.

To begin with, the simplest answer to making less salty soups would be to put no salt at all into the soup as it is being made. Instead, once you have finished cooking the soup, add only enough salt to season the soup correctly. An added benefit of this method is that it is better for your health, since it cuts down on the total sodium that you ingest. Furthermore, it allows everyone to have their food taste as they prefer it. Keep in mind that quite often a food, as prepared, has the proper amount of salt in it, but we as a society have developed a habit of reaching for the saltshaker, and adding more salt.

There is also another type of problem for salty soups though. This problem may well not result from the salt you add, but rather the salt that is in the items you put in the soup. Most commercially prepared broths, gravies, or soup bases that you buy in the supermarket already have plenty, if not too much, of salt added. Bouillon cubes, often a vital ingredient for many soups, are particularly notorious for being too salty.

Bear in mind that most canned vegetables also have salt added to them. You will have to read the label for every ingredient you put in the soup. The only items you can trust are fresh vegetables you add yourself and fresh meat or fish you add yourself. Most frozen vegetables are low salt. Therefore, care must be taken when using these types of ingredients that you use. This also includes the types of noodles that you use, since that can also influence the salt content of your soup.

Another possibility is the water you are using. Depending on the locality, some waters (whether from your own well or a municipal source) have more salt than others. You may want to get your water tested. Some water filters that you can buy and install, are useful in reducing any salinity somewhat (but not all, by any means). Now this would not be just any water filter, no, you will have to investigate to see that the particular filter you buy is useful for this. On the down side, these types of filters are very expensive to buy and maintain.

The last possibility is if you have a water softener. The chemicals used are, technically speaking, salts and most people can taste them. Connecting the water softener to the kitchen water supply is generally a no-no, especially if you do not want added chemicals in your drinking water.