5 Clever Ways To Use Salt Spray As Your Secret Ingredient

Salt is an exceptional flavor enhancer — and one of the easiest ways to boost the taste of pretty much anything. You only need to use a little and you can amplify sweet, sour, and umami tastes while decreasing how bitter something tastes; use more salinity, and sweetness will be reduced while umami is amped up. This versatility is why the seasoning makes savory dishes taste more delicious, but you can also add a pinch of salt to hot chocolate or other sweet dishes to really elevate them.

You can use different types of salt during cooking or when serving food, but if you've never tried spraying it rather than sprinkling it, then you're missing out on a great secret ingredient. Salt spray is exactly what it sounds like — a misty mixture of salt in water that can be sprayed. This method allows even distribution, and the seasoning can be applied with precise control, as opposed to larger flakes that stick seemingly randomly onto the food.

You can either buy salt sprays, or make your own by simply adding a tablespoon of fine sea salt to a cup of hot water so it dissolves, letting it cool, and pouring the mixture into a clean spray bottle. Add a drop or two of citrus oil or a sprig of fresh herbs if you fancy a more aromatic finish. Then you can use your spray in all sorts of ways to take everyday dishes to the next level.

If your corn on the cob isn't buttered, it can be difficult to get regular salt to stick properly as it just falls off. If it is buttered, the salt can stick to some of the curved surfaces of the kernals more than others, leading to some mouthfuls that are overly salty and others that taste disappointingly bland. Spraying the corn solves these problems, allowing for consistent salinity across the entire cob. 

Other vegetables can also benefit — try it on delicate salad leaves which can otherwise be weighed down by large salt flakes, for example, or on sweet, juicy sliced tomatoes. You can also spray the solution evenly into every crevice of hasselback potatoes — it's so much easier than trying to control exactly where flakes or granules land.

Salt can be used in a number of ways when making classic cocktails – whether to boost the sweetness, balance excess bitterness, or just to add complexity. It can also amplify citrus flavors. And, of course, it's much easier to mix in a spray of liquid solution than to try to integrate solid flakes — and you can add a little at a time until you're satisfied with the result.

You could also use salt spray to add a brininess to whiskey cocktails, giving a quality you usually only find with the peatiest Scotch whiskies, which come from the island of Islay. It can also soften cocktails which taste generally overly harsh. Try just a very small amount to start with in citrus-based drinks, and go for a little more in cocktails that feature more bitter ingredients.

The beauty of applying salt spray to popcorn is that each person can control how much (if any) salinity they prefer as it's so easy to apply it to individual portions when serving. It can also be used to boost other savory or sweet flavors you've used in the mix.

Try spritzing it onto spiced popcorn to boost the savory notes. Or use the mist to balance sweet notes of cinnamon sugar or kettle corn. Simplest of all, you could just spray the saline solution onto popcorn coated with butter or olive oil to instantly elevate the snack with minimal effort.

Fluffy eggs can be difficult to season evenly. If you add salt too early in the cooking process, some people believe it can make them tough — including Gordon Ramsay, who also never whisks his eggs. But if you leave it until you serve them, you can end up with flakes that are unevenly spread and tend to just sit on top of the eggs. Not only that, regular salt can also impart an unwelcome crunchy texture, which distracts from the creamy scramble.

Spraying salt solution toward the end of cooking allows you to evenly mix the solution into the eggs. Alternatively, spray them at the table to add more seasoning as desired. As a bonus, if you've included some citrus in the saline mix, lemon goes great with scrambled eggs adding extra brightness.

It's well-known that a pinch of salt can enhance many desserts, balancing the sweetness and adding extra depth of flavor, and chocolate is a perfect example. It tones down any excessively sweet notes in milky varieties while also making the bitterness of dark chocolate more palatable. Try a spritz on brownies, cookies, sauces, or any chocolatey desserts.

Caramel is another top contender for a salty boost. As well as sweet sauces, you could also use it to enhance the layers of flavor in ice cream or to boost blondies. The saline spray works especially well for individual servings, as each diner can adjust the saltiness according to personal preference.