Nothing tastes better than a pot of homemade soup, especially on a cold day. Not only is it delicious, but if you make it in bulk, you can freeze the soup for easy eating later. Perfect, right? It stays that way until you taste it and add too much salt to the pot and it’s inedible. But don’t throw away that soup just yet. Fixing an overly salted soup is easy. To find out how, we asked the experts who make delicious soups and other products at Fisher & Wieser in Fredericksburg, Texas.
How to avoid soups with too much salt
The easiest way to avoid adding too much salt to your soup is to taste it as you eat it. Add salt little by little. Remember, you can always add more if you don’t have enough. Ashley Seelig, director of quality assurance and product development at Fisher & Wieser, says you should also be wary of sneaky ingredients. “Soups and soup concentrates are notoriously salty,” she says. She warns that many spice blends also have added salt. Always read ingredient labels. You may need to avoid adding salt when cooking meats that are high in sodium, such as ham or bacon.
Alison Mikusch. Prop styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland.Food Styling: Melissa Gray
How to fix salty soup
If you haven’t paid much attention to your salt shaker, don’t worry. There are several ways to fix overly salted soups. Many involve adding more ingredients to dilute or balance the saltiness. Others include adding ingredients that absorb excess salt. You have options, but diluting is really the best way to fix a salty soup. Because it can reduce the total sodium content per serving. This is important to follow the US dietary guidelines, which limit sodium intake for adults to less than 2,300 mg per day. If you use other methods to reduce saltiness, such as adding acid, the total sodium content will not be corrected.
dilute the soup
All of these ingredients can quickly dilute the salt in your soup. Add a little at a time, mix, taste, and repeat if necessary. Choose how to use them depending on what ingredients are already in the recipe (Is the soup full of vegetables? Or creamy and smooth?) or add new ingredients to complement the flavor.
add water
Carolyn Brown, executive chef at Fisher & Wieser, says her favorite way to reduce salt is to simply add water. Add it little by little while tasting. If you find your soup too thin, she recommends adding cornstarch or flour to the water in a 1:1 ratio. She also adds, “For cream-based soups, such as potato soup, add more cream with the water.”
add dairy products
Brown says you’re lucky if you have dairy products in your fridge. “One of the best ways to compensate for too much salt,” he says, “is to add dairy products. You can also add yogurt, heavy cream, or even sour cream.” Feel free to use whatever you have on hand. please. Dairy products can be added to the entire pot or directly to the bowl before serving.
Add dashi stock
Both Seelig and Brown say adding broth to soups is a great way to dilute the salt. If you have time, Seelig suggests making your own protein by boiling it in water. Please omit any salt in the recipe. If you use store-bought soup, be sure to read the label to make sure it has as little sodium as possible.
absorb salt
Starches and grains are designed to absorb all the delicious flavors of your food. Adding any of these ingredients will make your soup less salty. There are also tricks to absorb and remove salt from your food.
Soak up the salt with potatoes
Try this method if you’re making chowder or vegetable soup. Seelig suggests peeling one or two potatoes (or more, depending on the size of your pot) and boiling them in the pot with the soup. Boil for about 30 minutes to absorb excess salt. When done, remember to remove the potatoes from the soup.
add starch
You can also use potatoes, pasta, or rice to make the dish less salty, and even turn your favorite soup into a hearty, hearty meal. Dice the potatoes and cook in the soup until fork-tender. This will take 10-20 minutes. For pasta or rice, add half a cup to a cup to the soup, keeping in mind that it will expand. Simmer in the soup until tender enough to bite but not mushy. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
balance salt and acid
If you’re worried about your soup being too bland, here are options that add flavor while cutting through the saltiness. Choose one of the methods below, depending on whether you want a gentle course correction or a complete overhaul of your overly salty soup.
add lemon or vinegar
A squeeze of lemon balances out the acidity of the slightly oversalted soup. A sprinkle of vinegar can soften the salty taste.
add tomatoes
Canned tomatoes are even better, as they add acidity while diluting an overly salty soup. This method is especially good for soups that already include tomatoes in the ingredient list, such as minestrone, chili, or tortilla soup.
