Salt tastes good, and it makes food taste good, which is why we’ve chosen it as our primary flavour enhancer. Our bodies even need small amounts of it to function. But salt comes with some jeopardy too.

 

Consume more than the 5g a day recommended for adults by the World Health Organization (WHO) and things quickly switch from “Salt of the Earth” to “Salt the Earth” territory!

 

High blood pressure, heart attack and stroke are some of the more worrying effects of regular high sodium intake. And according to the UK’s Action on Salt, “high salt intake has [also] been shown to increase the amount of protein in the urine, which is a major risk factor for a decline in kidney function.”

 

South African guidelines are fully WHO aligned, with The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa stressing that the recommended upper limit of 5g per day “includes the salt already in foods, salt added during cooking, and salt added at the table.”

 

That’s quite an alarming reality if you’ve recently looked at the sodium levels of your favourite breads, tinned foods, ready meals and even breakfast cereals and biscuits.

 

The South African government takes the matter exceedingly seriously, and the country has, since 2016, been playing a leading role in salt reduction globally. It was, in fact, “the first country to include mandated maximum salt targets across a wide range of processed foods,” notes the South African Medical Journal.

 

Nonetheless, the amount of salt we consume on a daily basis is ultimately up to each of us, and we have to take personal responsibility. One easy to implement salt-lowering strategy is to use umami-rich mushrooms as a substitute flavour enhancer in cooking.

 

Upping your mushroom usage is a way to “wean” yourself off of salt, along with cooking most of your food from scratch, including stocks and spice pastes; giving those tinned foods in brine a pass; reducing the amount of salt you add to cooking water and hiding the salt cellar at dinner time!

 

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami are the basic tastes we experience, and amplifying one to reduce another is a recognised and sound approach to better health.

 

“A key strategy for reducing sodium without losing cuisine enjoyment is via umami,” writes culinary nutritionist Jackie Newgent in the newsletter, Nutrition News About Mushrooms.

 

“Foods rich in umami contain glutamate, which provides savouriness. Umami also counterbalances saltiness, enhances sweetness, reduces bitterness, and boosts satiety while creating appetite appeal. Research suggests use of umami allows for up to a 50 percent salt reduction without compromising flavour.”

 

The US Mushroom Council describes umami as “a savoury, brothy, rich or meaty taste sensation … it’s a satisfying sense of deep, complete flavour, balancing savoury flavours and full-bodied taste with distinctive qualities of aroma and mouthfeel.” To get the maximum umami out of your white button, portabellini and portabello mushrooms, the Council advises you:

 

* “Sear mushrooms for a more intense roasted, charred and smoky flavour and overall aroma.”

* “Roast mushrooms to get more sweet, salty and umami tastes with caramelised, nutty and buttery flavours.”

* “Create a mushroom base, ideal for burgers, meatballs and meatloaf [by] roasting or sautéing mushrooms ahead of time to intensify flavour and then finely chopping to add to ground meat dishes.”

 

An additional perk of using more mushrooms in your cooking in place of salt, according to WebMD, is that “mushrooms are a rich source of potassium, a nutrient known for reducing the negative impact that sodium can have on your body.

 

“When sodium levels increase, potassium levels tend to decrease,” agrees The Cleveland Clinic. “Eating more potassium has the opposite effect of sodium.”

 

“Potassium lessens the tension in blood vessels, potentially helping to lower blood pressure,” notes WebMD. “Additionally, mushrooms have a low level of sodium, so using them in recipes that call for saltier ingredients can reduce your sodium intake, which in turn helps with blood pressure.”

 

Take your first foray into low-salt, high-flavour eating with a hearty dinner of Braised Pork with Mushrooms and Butter Beans https://rebrand.ly/837dde. You’ll be asking for seconds and leaning into mushroom meals in no time!

 

View https://rebrand.ly/b3k3tok for more mouthwatering mushroom recipes and inspiration.

 

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