Now that we’re better acquainted with salt and sodium, let’s get to know our tongues a little bit better, too. Because this licking and lapping device does a lot more than rescue drips of sauce from the corner of your mouth.
The tongue actually plays a very important role in helping us know what tastes good (mint chip ice cream, hooray!) and what tastes bad (moldy cantaloupe, boo). Of course, the nose is also involved, but we’ll talk about that in a second. By giving your tongue what it’s looking for, you’ll end up with a satisfying low-sodium meal.
Covered in taste buds, our tongues can detect five distinct tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, umami (or savory), and salty. It’s a combination of these elements that move dishes from boring to pleasant to memorable to “let’s make this again immediately.” An understanding of the tastes and how to combine them will help you quickly fine-tune a dish or make something up, on the fly.
Here’s the mind-blowing part of the lesson: Each of these five tastes can be found in whole foods, naturally. No bottles, no sauces, no seasoning, no salt or sodium necessary. That’s right. Mother Nature made her own spice rack with fruits, vegetables, and meat. So let’s explore the five tastes with this simple plate of raw ingredients.
Sweets
Let’s start with the taste we probably think we know best: Sweet. When we think of sweet, we typically think of fruit—cobblers, strawberry-topped waffles, and banana smoothies. But it’s time to start thinking of sweet ingredients as a friend of savory food, too. The next time you see rosy raspberries or plump nectarines, transform them into a sauce for grilled meat or mix them into a vegetable-heavy salad. And don’t forget that nonfruit items—like peas, corn, and basil—are sweet, too. A dash of natural sweetness will balance and enhance other flavors in a dish.
Try This: Take a bite of in-season berries. Then explore some nonfruit sweetness with fresh-from-the-cob corn kernels or Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup. Then go to the next level and try Roasted Fig and Tomato Slow Jam, on its own or atop a juicy pork chop or steak, and enjoy the dance of naturally occurring sweet, savory, and umami tastes.
Sour
Adding something sour to a dish, like citrus or vinegar, is akin to splashing your face with cold water. It’s a quick way to wake up your food. If you want to resurrect leftovers, a squeeze of lemon will do the trick. When that salad needs a little extra oomph, try a dash of vinegar. And if that soup hits only one note, add another with a tangy dollop of Greek yogurt.
Try This: Don’t tell your dentist, but take a bite of a lemon wedge. Then sample Lemon Chicken Orzo or Macaroon Custard Tarts to see how well a sour ingredient plays with sweet and savory ingredients.
Bitter
When people think of umami, they think of high-sodium products like soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and kimchi. But umami (or savory) flavor actually exists naturally in mushrooms, tomatoes, beef, and even green tea. And umami flavor actually gets stronger when ingredients are aged, dried, cooked, cured, or simply paired with other umami-rich foods. So if you need to increase the savory taste of a dish, go for more umami.
Try This: Add shiitake mushrooms to your next vegetable stir-fry and enjoy the savory boost. Then try Genmaicha Microwave Soup (page 122) or Cauliflower Steaks with Curry Mushroom Gravy for a multiplied umami experience.
Salty
You’re probably thinking, how can you create a salty taste without salt? Well, remember that most foods have sodium in them naturally. We can use that fact to our cooking advantage. Using ingredients like beets, meat, and shellfish that are naturally higher in sodium, you can infuse favorite typically salty dishes with natural salty tastes. No saltshaker needed.
Try This: Start by chewing on a piece of celery. Wow, kind of salty tasting, right? Then make Carrot–Sweet Onion Dressing to add balance to sweet and smoky Grilled Lettuce Salad or try Toasted Rice Patties with their salty tasting seaweed sprinkle.
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