Kitchen Myths

Facts and fiction about food and cooking, by Peter Aitken

Adding salt to the cooking water keeps greens green

5 Comments Posted by kitchenmyths on March 30, 2011

Nope. You may want the salt for the taste, but it has no effect on the color of the final product. A pinch of baking soda could actually improve color by making the water more alkaline, but because most people have water that is already a wee bit alkaline to begin with, you may not notice a difference.

5 responses to “Adding salt to the cooking water keeps greens green”

anthony September 13, 2011 at 9:20 am
I’m in class for culinary arts. My teacher has us use salt to blanch greens (makes them brighter was his reason.) are you telling me that the salt is unnecessary?

Reply
- kitchenmyths September 13, 2011 at 4:50 pm
  That’s why it’s a myth! Because lots of people believe it. Adding salt does no harm, and you might want to add salt for taste. Give it a try, you don’t have to believe me.
  
  Reply
- Verle October 9, 2011 at 8:32 pm
  It’s great to read something that’s both enjaybole and provides pragmatisdc solutions.
  
  Reply
Mookster October 25, 2011 at 5:08 am
Just a comment on adding salt. I can’t prove or disprove it, but the reason I was given was that as the dissolved salt raises the boiling point of the water, the greens will cook quicker, due to the higher temperature of the water. As with a lot of ‘received wisdom’ that makes ‘obvious’ sense, when I think about it, the levels of salt may not be high enough to make a difference. I’ll have a look into it….

Reply
- kitchenmyths October 25, 2011 at 9:05 am
  Adding salt does increase the boiling point, but only by a tiny amount – certainly not enough to affect the cooking time.
  
  Reply