Rescuing oversalted broth with a potato.

[GordonD]

I once accidentally oversalted a pot of chili I was making for the office potluck. It was within tolerance range (barely) and I didn't know what else to do, so I brought it in anyway.

Our then-food editor told me I should have tossed a potato into the pot, as it would have absorbed the extra salt and brought the chili back to where it should have been.

I've been trying to find a reference to this somewhere, to no avail. Does anybody know if this works? How long does the potato need? Peeled or unpeeled? Depending on what kind of broth you are working with and what you are using it for, might starch from the potato cause issues down the line?

Edited August 4, 2007 by GordonD (log)

[ATram]

they say that if you add a peeled potato and simmer the broth/soup for a while it "absorbs" the salt excess. I never tried this because i doubt it really works.

If i oversalt anything i usually try to play with acids and sugars, or adding more of the main ingredient, depending what we are talking about

[FauxPas]

Yes, this is a very standard approach to rescuing an oversalted dish. Others may know more than I, but you can peel the potato and throw it in whole or cut it in segments and throw it in, peeled or not. Leave it in for 10 mins or so and taste, and keep tasting. Basically, the rule I follow is to remove it before it becomes soft.

You can also add milk or sugar, but of course, that depends on the type of sauce/dish you are preparing.

Yes, I think the extra starch might make a difference, that is why you remove it before it gets too soft, I think.......????

[Shalmanese]

The potato thing doesn't work.

[melkor]

The potato thing doesn't work.

←

I'd agree with that. But, it does do a good job of making the broth you already screwed up by over salting taste a bit like potato.

[jackal10]

Its a myth, but a spoonful of sugar does wonders.

(it doesn't reduce the actual salt content but fools the tastebuds.

If you want to reduce salt in a recipe reduce the sugar as well. Many commercial products are still high salt and high sugar)

Edited August 4, 2007 by jackal10 (log)

[willows]

What does work is actually adding a potato to the dish. Its starchy blandness requires a strongly flavored broth, so it works with something that's not disastrously oversalted.

I've never tried adding a potato and then taking it back out, but simply adding potato has worked for me several times when someone overzealously seasons a soup or stew.

[Wesley1]

In the book " What Einstein told his cook" goes over this question and show clearly that it doesn't work,(From a scientific point of view) not saying much about the power of suggestion

[Gruzia]

i thought that adding an acid would help balance out the salt - like adding vinegar or lemon jiuce, etc. Is this true?