370705 Tue Feb 13 09:48:57 -0800 2007 59 31 Home Cooking 0 2288295 I was reading an old mystery novel the other day and the main character (who is depicted as a bit of a chef ... or at least a good cook) puts a pinch of salt in his coffee grounds before brewing. In other words, a few scoops of coffee and a pinch or a dash of salt. I'm actually squeamish to try it ... sounds icky ... but I've been wrong before. Does anyone routinely put a dash of salt into their coffee maker when brewing coffee? Tue Feb 13 09:48:57 -0800 2007 10914 PaulF 1 2288363 you're sure this isn't the author's way of telling you that the main character is not a sugar-coated kind of guy? i'll be following this post. I'm a coffee addict and I must know what this is all about.... Tue Feb 13 10:04:41 -0800 2007 2288295 66659 tastytamarind 2 2288520 Not sure. In the book, the private eye is sort of a macho guy who can cook, but his girlfriend can't cook. He tells her to add more coffee (to make it stronger) and a pinch of salt (who knows, but a post below suggests it might be to cut the bitterness). The result is strong coffee he likes and coffee she thinks is too strong (and salty -- though maybe she's just imagining it ... which means I'm now speculating on what a fictional character might be imagining ... which is weird) Tue Feb 13 10:34:06 -0800 2007 2288363 10914 PaulF 1 2288387 My housekeeper when I was young always put salt in her coffee. Always. For a while we thought she just confused it with the sugar (our house doesn't have labels on the jars) so we tried to tell her and she said that she prefers salt. I can never bring myself to try it though. Tue Feb 13 10:09:42 -0800 2007 2288295 38500 caphill2320 2 2288501 Just so we're clear ... I'm talking about putting salt in with the coffee before it's made. Not adding salt (like you would sugar) and stirring it in. Tue Feb 13 10:30:09 -0800 2007 2288387 10914 PaulF 3 2291680 Oops, the person I knew added it like sugar to brewed coffee. Wed Feb 14 08:13:37 -0800 2007 2288501 38500 caphill2320 1 2288429 I used to add a pinch of salt and a shake of cinnamon to the coffee grounds on a daily basis...( before brewing) it cuts the bitterness and brings out the coffee flavor...you don't taste the salt at all..now that better coffee beans are available I don't add salt at all.. Tue Feb 13 10:16:53 -0800 2007 2288295 47734 LenaNE 2 2288510 Interesting ... I'm no cook, but by osmosis (my wife watches Food Network) I thought I learned that sometimes salt is used in small quantities to enhance other flavors, even when you can't taste the salt. This reminds me of that. Tue Feb 13 10:31:48 -0800 2007 2288429 10914 PaulF 3 2290864 Yes. I think that's exactly right. When I saute garlic in olive oil, I always add a little salt... it seems to diffuse the flavor throughout whatever dish I'm using it in. I worked with a chef who insisted on a little salt in virtually everything he made - albeit in the beginning stages. And his dishes were never salty. But very, very flavorful. Tue Feb 13 21:17:55 -0800 2007 2288510 10642 bryan 1 2288527 A good cup of coffee doesn't need any doctoring at all, but sometimes you get a cup that's more bitter than you like. Some people add sweetener to counteract the bitterness, but salt is actually much more effective at decreasing your perception of bitterness. Try it! It's just a matter of taste, really. If it's legit to put sugar in your coffee, it's equally legit to use salt. In the same vein, if you find grapefruit too bitter on its own, try sprinkling salt on it instead of sugar. Tue Feb 13 10:36:02 -0800 2007 2288295 37543 ray 2 2288546 That said, I would definitely not add salt with the grounds before brewing. Add it to your cup, like you would milk and sugar. You need to be able to taste what you've got before you mess with it. Tue Feb 13 10:40:13 -0800 2007 2288527 37543 ray 2 3089787 i grew up using salt on grapefruit (s. fla.). mmm. i can taste it now. so refreshing! Fri Nov 02 12:17:00 -0700 2007 2288527 105717 alkapal 1 2288661 I believe that this originated while using chichory because of the bitterness, I have done it also with regular french roast and can't report anything remarkably different. I used to put it into the ground coffee prior to brewing. Tue Feb 13 11:04:27 -0800 2007 2288295 50431 chef chicklet 1 2288896 Spenser, by any chance? I also think it has to do with bitterness. Don't be squeamish. Give it a try. My guess is that you won't notice a difference. Maybe you'll like it! Tue Feb 13 11:50:36 -0800 2007 2288295 14139 Kagey 2 2288933 Yep. I found a copy of Hush Money in my garage and picked it up, I think I may have read it before (though for some reason i quit on that series about six or seven years ago --- I think they all started to read the same to me). But they are pretty good books, beach reads. I use a coffee press, not a Mr. Coffee but I'll give it a shot. Tue Feb 13 11:58:31 -0800 2007 2288896 10914 PaulF 1 2289174 This is a common practice on many commercial fishing vessels, tugboats, and offshore oil rigs--anyplace where potable water is stored for long periods of time. Not only does the salt cut the bitterness of the coffee, but it also smooths out the "stale" taste of tank-stored water. Tue Feb 13 12:43:37 -0800 2007 2288295 12023 Hungry Celeste 2 2289304 My mother put a dash of salt in coffee back in the 50's. I think she also put crushed egg shell too, at one time ---I have NO idea what that was supposed to do. Tue Feb 13 13:17:26 -0800 2007 2289174 18755 howboy 3 2289355 Ah, the crushed egg shell serves to clarify coffee. Did she use a two-part enamel drip coffee pot? These pots have rather large perforations in the metal filter section, and inevitably some grounds end up in the bottom part of the pot in the brewed coffee. You put a smashed eggshell (rinsed) in the bottom of the pot and it traps the stray grounds. Tue Feb 13 13:26:44 -0800 2007 2289304 12023 Hungry Celeste 4 2289444 Nope, it was a Pyrex percolator.. I think it was a hot tip from her globe-trotting brother.... it was supposed to improve the taste. He always visited us with a trove of unusual culinary "secrets". This was way back when, mind you--before the Gastronomic Revolution---so folks found my Mom's cooking techniques exotic. Tue Feb 13 13:44:16 -0800 2007 2289355 18755 howboy 5 3090320 yep those perculators did brew some bitter coffee. Fri Nov 02 14:43:34 -0700 2007 2289444 89493 scubadoo97 1 2289455 my secretary used to swear by the dash of salt she put into the coffee grinds every morning -- she claimed it was a dutch secret. I couldn't tell if it made a difference or not, it certainly didn't make the coffee salty. But the next pot that someone else made tasted pretty much the same without it (we all told her we put salt in the pots we made though, because no one wanted to take her wrath if we didn't) Tue Feb 13 13:46:58 -0800 2007 2288295 45908 orangewasabi 1 2290097 This is the type of stuff that gets me curious, so I gave it a try ... Bottom line: - I will never suffer through another bad cup of coffee at a fast food joint, restaurant, gas station ,etc as long as I have salt to add to the cup. Salt really does take the edge off a bad cup of coffee.taking away the sharp bite and making it mellow and smoother. - Salt responsibly. A tiny bit too much takes it over the edge - Doesn't do a thing for decent coffee and has the possiblity of accenting some bad qualities to the coffee. - There is no difference between adding salt to the grounds while brewing or adding salt to a cup of already brewed coffee. Same taste. Here's what I used: - 1 cup of Maxwell House coffee brewed salt-free this morning - 1 pot (10 cups) Maxwell House coffee brewed with 1/8 tsp of salt - 1 cup of instant Nescafe Classico coffee - 1 sacrificial pot of Maxwell House coffee with way too much salt ... 1/2 teaspoon I looked around on the web and there were quite a few references to adding a pinch of salt, including one from the Salt Institute http://www.saltinstitute.org/29.html But what does a pinch really mean? How much coffee to salt? Yeah ... 1/2 teaspoon to 10 cups of coffee ... too much salt. Threw it away. The most successful use of salt was with the instant Nescafe Clasico which to me tastes vile and bitter. Made a cup ... black ... took a sip ... as noxious as I remembered Took a few grains of salt and sprinkled it into black coffee. INSTANT change to the instant coffee. It was a lot smoother and salt really did mellow the cup and make it drinkable. Now it didn't make it great coffee, but it turned it decent. Added a few more grains of salt ... still ok, but it was on the edge of getting salty. Adding milk brought out a bit more saltiness. So just sprinkle lightly with salt and once the edge is gone ... stop. Less is more. Ok, read this as one cup of Maxwell House coffee was left over in the pot from my morning brew. Maxwell House isn't a bad supermarket coffee ... my S/O likes it ... but to me it has a faint background cardboard taste to it ... not really pronouced. It is a mild coffee, so there's no bitterness AFAIK to it. It starts mellow ... or to be unkind ... bland ... inoffensive. Tried a sip of black coffee of the pot brewed with the 1/8 tsp of salt. What it did was bring out that cardboard taste. Not horrid, but it was stronger. My thought is that just as salt will bring out good flavors in food, it will also bring out bad flavors. I might try adding a little salt to a cup of more complex coffee ... yes Blue Bottle I'm talking to you ... I'm adding SALT to my next cup of BB coffee. Will see if it intensifies the good flavors. Added milk. Now I have two identical cups of coffee ... same coffee, same milk, same amount, same brewing methology with only salt as the difference. For Maxwell House, the cup without salt was better ... sweeter. The salted coffee was ok, I just preferred the sweeter brew. Added a few sprinkles to the cup brewed without salt. It tasted identical to the cup brewed with salt. So salt can be added after brewing with the same results. So I'd use salt only if I had a bitter cup of coffee and no other option ... like being caught on the highway somewhere and bad coffee from some joint is the only option. Or I accidently buy a bitter bag of coffee. I'd add salt instead of tossing the coffee or suffering through it. I wonder if America's Test Kitchen will hire me? My dream job ... second only to being Harold McGee's assistant. Tue Feb 13 16:41:36 -0800 2007 2288295 10264 rworange 2 2290127 ok, THAT was really something. you've done it for science and for all of us who have to drive for long distances beyond the reach of our thermosi. awesome, thank you! Tue Feb 13 16:50:04 -0800 2007 2290097 45908 orangewasabi 3 2290314 Agreed I'm convinced to give it a try. Tue Feb 13 17:45:39 -0800 2007 2290127 22048 yehudimenuhin 2 2290354 You are my hero. Tue Feb 13 18:04:01 -0800 2007 2290097 10914 PaulF 2 2290869 Way to take one for the team. Tue Feb 13 21:20:07 -0800 2007 2290097 10642 bryan 2 3089817 rworange, it is now november. have you come down from all that coffee you so couragesouly tested? ;-) Fri Nov 02 12:21:50 -0700 2007 2290097 105717 alkapal 1 2291739 I lived in Chinatown in NYC for a year and all of the Chinese-run coffee shops do this. That said, Chinatown coffee is some of my favorite! Wed Feb 14 08:30:44 -0800 2007 2288295 74407 uneventfulijk 1 2291950 My grandpa has always put a dab of salt in his coffee grounds before brewing - he says it cuts down the bitterness. Wed Feb 14 09:26:45 -0800 2007 2288295 56308 drgnflychic 1 2291983 There was a similar reference to this in an early Tom Clancy novel. The character was the ex admiral at the CIA. He was making a pot of coffee and told how he added a pinch of salt. It mentioned that it was an old Navy tradition/habit/standard. Can't recall which. Wed Feb 14 09:34:19 -0800 2007 2288295 38452 tomself 1 2292056 I know someone who always puts a couple of dashes of Tabasco into his cup of (brewed) coffee! Wed Feb 14 09:49:41 -0800 2007 2288295 41708 Mill City Modern 2 2292197 Yeah, I'm not biting for that one. Someone else can give that a try. Now hot chocolate ... that might be an idea. Wed Feb 14 10:25:40 -0800 2007 2292056 10264 rworange 3 4607781 salted hot chocolate is amazing!!! especially witha caramel floated on top Sat Apr 18 17:33:21 -0700 2009 2292197 264146 kubasd 1 2311551 My pal who is a nurse sweares by REALLY strong coffee with a saltine dipped in before taking the first sip. --Dommy! Tue Feb 20 14:04:35 -0800 2007 2288295 10659 Dommy 2 2311996 That is such a cool tip. That ensures there's just the minimal amount of salt ... and most of the places that serve coffee that needs salt would have saltines ... for to the canned soup or chili. Tue Feb 20 15:47:12 -0800 2007 2311551 10264 rworange 3 2312208 Exactly her reasoning. She hordes saltine packets (This is how i found out about her doing this when she asked me for mine after we finished a lunch out and I joked that I heard Nurses were supposed to be well paid... :D) --Dommy! Tue Feb 20 16:48:32 -0800 2007 2311996 10659 Dommy 1 2397509 Salt reduces the bitterness and we do it at work all the time. I do it at home and the wife doesn't know and has never complained. Of course she uses non-dairy creamer, sugar and powdered chotolate drink mix powder too. I drink mine black and unsweetened. I sure wouldn't dip a cracker in my coffee though, dang thing would disolve and have cracker paste in the bottom of the cup. Sun Mar 18 13:33:31 -0700 2007 2288295 83883 flounderhead59 1 2990910 After reading this I remembered that my parents added a small bit of butter (smaller than a pea) to a bitter cup of coffee. Maybe it's the salt in the butter that fixed the bitterness??? Sun Sep 30 15:51:31 -0700 2007 2288295 125837 bluesman 2 2991007 On the original question of this thread... my reply is what the .....????? I think if your coffee needs "fixing" it's not good enough to drink. Just my opinion, being someone who really likes the taste of good coffee. Sun Sep 30 16:48:19 -0700 2007 2990910 99134 Texchef 1 2991015 Well, I've just addded a pinch of kosher salt to the beans I'll be grinding tomorrow morning. Will post if there's a difference. Sun Sep 30 16:52:42 -0700 2007 2288295 11995 pikawicca 1 3088683 I myself was a bit sceptical about this when my mother in law told me she did this. I always wonder why her coffee tasted so much better than mine ... always thought it was because she was using an old percolator rather than a coffee pot like most of us use. It tastes wonderful...now it's a rule in my house as well. I tried selling the idea to my co-workers -- although most had heard that people have used salt in their brewing process. They weren't sold on the my idea! So I started putting in a pinch of salt in my cup prior to pouring my coffee. Tastes the same as if I would have brewed the salt with the coffee grounds. Much smoother taste... I must agree. Fri Nov 02 07:24:48 -0700 2007 2288295 139664 Kaye1022 1 3090389 My BF just did this the other day right in front of me. He said the same thing, it cuts bitterness. Of course, I like it sorta bitter. RWOrange, nice documentation. I don't remember seeing Harold McGee discuss this. Fri Nov 02 15:08:51 -0700 2007 2288295 13445 Louise 2 3223378 In hot climates a pinch of salt in your 1st cup in the morning helps get the brain fireing, as well rounding off the flavour.... Wed Dec 19 15:53:34 -0800 2007 3090389 151205 donnie101 1 3457506 What you are talking about is called Black Gang Coffee. The Black Gang are the men who work in the engine room of a ship. They would brew thick coffee to keep them going for long shifts ( generally 18 hours ). they would add a pinch of salt for the electrolytes, like a 19th century Gatorade. Old time sailors still brew it for nostalgia. Im sure in another 20 years the art will be dead and gone. Mon Mar 03 22:49:04 -0800 2008 2288295 171672 socmobile 2 4602981 Salt also works for "midwatch" coffee. That's the coffee left over from dinner that is slowly cooking down to the point that, when you drink a cup at 2:00 a.m. out of desperation in an attempt to stay awake, you have to cut it with a knife. It's thick and horribly bitter if you don't salt it a bit. Actually, it's still thick and bitter, but somewhat improved. Thu Apr 16 19:10:33 -0700 2009 3457506 283357 calawyr 3 4837548 i call that the "la brea tar pits" coffee. Tue Jul 07 15:44:03 -0700 2009 4602981 105717 alkapal 1 3457790 my grandfather does it he loves it and he said it doesnt do nothing ot the coffee and im alittle bit err to try. i know im a chef blah blah.. but i never would do it... maybe i will...just to try it.. hmm i till do it right now after this.. and tell ya how it was... i guess it softins the coffee.. hmm maybe...not sure i'll call papa Tue Mar 04 06:05:05 -0800 2008 2288295 171375 love_london 1 3465076 I just tried this "salt-dash" method to Community Coffee (Louisiana coffee http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/default.aspx) Cmty Coff is often too strong for me on its own (perfect for café au lait, though), but by adding the dash of salt to the grounds prior to brewing really cut the bitterness. Thanks PaulF and everyone! Thu Mar 06 05:14:58 -0800 2008 2288295 101616 Tehama 1 3484161 Hey All, I use a french press and have always put a small pinch of salt in my coffee I have also (lately) been adding a small amount of freshly ground nutmeg (in very small amounts) . . . I find the nutmeg is a natural with coffee ... much like it is with bitter greens . . . it just seems to round out the flavours....My brother who buys the same coffee beans always comments that mine tastes much better than his does . . .I've also had a number of other people comment on how the subtle flavor adds a little something to the brew....Give it a try....It's quite tasty!! SB Tue Mar 11 21:47:09 -0700 2008 2288295 17544 snackboy 1 4032411 it appears that this thread has died, but for those that are interested in some of the science and history of Black gang coffee. It was started from the engineers in the boiler rooms of ships. Since they ships of the time used coal or wood fired boilers, the soot turned them black. The salt in the coffee is a natural water softener and so it does help with stored potable water and ait helps with water retention and replenishing electrolytes since the caffiene in the coffee will dehydrate you. A recipe I found is 1 part salt to 6 parts dark coffee grounds to 6 parts medium coffee grounds mixed before brewing. Note that this is designed to dampen the bitterness from strong coffee so if you don't like your coffee strong, I would not recommend trying this recipe exactly, or maybe changeing the grounds to medium and light or dark and light, but this might and probably will effect the saltiness. Sat Sep 13 13:30:19 -0700 2008 2288295 225940 joelbs 2 4607481 Actually, I like strong coffee but not overbrewed/burnt. This thread has SAVED me on long car trips and mornings at amusement parks--I can now tolerate bad roadside coffee! Thanks for the tip, and the science behind it. Very interesting... Sat Apr 18 15:11:02 -0700 2009 4032411 19626 thursday 1 4603255 Didn't have time to read everyone elses posts, but this is perfectly normal. A pinch of salt will improve almost any coffee. When I say a pinch, I mean 1/8 teaspoon or less with 4 cups or more of coffee. Nobody can detect it, but it will improve it... Thu Apr 16 21:07:33 -0700 2009 2288295 25251 hankstramm 1 4836727 I know this thread is old but I just stumbled across it. Serious thanks to rworange for drinking all that bad coffee to test some of this out. FWIW, my understanding is that it is traditional in Ethiopia to drink coffee with a bit of salt or with clarified butter (also mentioned in the thread)--at least, that is what my neighbourhood Ethiopian restaurant claims. For me, this is something that is usually unnecessary but might sometimes be helpful. Tue Jul 07 11:08:41 -0700 2009 2288295 46698 markdsgraham 1 4902983 A lady I work with made coffee sprinkling salt over the already-used grounds and then adding more grounds today. She said the salt takes away the bitterness. IT WAS AWFUL!! My secretary and I were hard pressed to even try the stuff because it smelled sooooo bad. Needless to say, I will always have an excuse available the next time she wants to make a pot of coffee. Oh, I actually thought the coffee tasted more bitter than usual! Thu Jul 30 07:56:00 -0700 2009 2288295 1097895 crtrprtr 2 4903727 Ick. Fresh coffee only. Not day old used grounds. I don't thin anything could help that Thu Jul 30 11:22:43 -0700 2009 4902983 10264 rworange 3 4903864 We used to sprinkle cinnamon over our coffee grounds when I was in college but that was because we couldn't afford good coffee and this cut the bitterness a little. Never heard of the salt deal, but if it's just a pinch, perhaps it IS to bring out flavor as salt usually does. Anything more than a pinch - so that you could actually taste the salt - sounds awful. Thu Jul 30 12:02:34 -0700 2009 4903727 10245 oakjoan 1 5270223 What's the name of the book? I'd like to read it. Tue Dec 22 13:29:09 -0800 2009 2288295 1133820 azucar 1 5270991 In a recent episode of GOOD EATS, Alton Brown recommended a pinch of salt added to the ground coffee beans. Hmm...maybe he read the book. Tue Dec 22 20:13:57 -0800 2009 2288295 1100808 bizkat 1 5271144 Lots of interesting posts here. I think putting salt in the coffee dates back to the 1880's cowboy days; remember the old cowboy films (made in the 1940's, however) and chuck wagon Cookie always put salt in the big speckled enamel drip pot with the coffee grounds? I can only imagine the quality of the coffee available back then. Then the cowboys would spit the coffee out after they tasted it, as a commentary on Cookie's culinary skills. Now please don't say anything about that happening only in the movies... A little pinch of salt in anything will enhance the flavor of anything, without making it salty, even coffee. I don't see why it wouldn't work. If Alton Brown does it, then it's cool by me. Tue Dec 22 22:15:57 -0800 2009 2288295 1095104 bushwickgirl 2 5271165 I worked in an office of about 20 or so people many years back and adding a pinch of salt to to the ground coffee was standard procedure. It did improve the taste, but we used cheap, crappy beans. Maybe it's like adding a pinch of salt to bread dough or oatmeal. As others have noted, you don't want to add so much that you actually taste the salt. Tue Dec 22 22:36:57 -0800 2009 5271144 53530 Zeldog