A Small Sprinkle Of Salt On Watermelon Is One Of South’s Most Sought After Summer Treats

Jul 14, 2021 by apost team

In the warmth of July and August, everyone begins to crave something cool and refreshing to beat the heat. Sweet, delicious, watermelon is already one of the summer’s most popular treats. However, in the South, they put a little twist on the classic snack by adding a sprinkle of salt. Now, this may sound strange at first, but there is a reason that salt can actually enhance the natural sweetness of the watermelon. 

It may seem counterintuitive at first to add salt to make something sweeter. But salty and sweet flavors are already a popular combination, like in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or chocolate peanut butter cups. Salty flavors bring out the sweetness of the other ingredients and make the whole treat taste better.   

One of the secrets to this unique snack is that salt naturally cuts through bitterness. Watermelon, when under-ripe or closer to the rind, has a bit of a bitter taste. The salt works to counteract that flavor and bring out the underlying sweetness that is there. Salt will also improve the texture of the fruit by drawing out the moisture inside and bringing all the juicy goodness to the surface.  

It is a simple trick, all you need to do is sprinkle a little bit of coarse salt or flake salt onto a slice of watermelon and wait a moment before digging in. Table or iodized salt will also work but the coarse and flake salt will release the best flavor profile. Waiting allows the moisture to be released and the salt will dissolve and blend with the delicious sweetness of the fruit juice. 

According to the food developer and author of “Taste What You’re Missing, The Passionate Eater’s Guide to Why Good Food Tastes Good,” Barb Stuckey, there is food science behind the claim that salt can make things taste sweeter. 

“Watermelon has three taste elements,” she explains, “sweet, sour and bitter; it’s all in the flesh of the melon.” Stuckey says, the bitterness holds the sweetness in check and actually suppresses it. Salt has the effect of eliminating the bitterness and increasing the sweetness, or as she said, “releasing (the sweetness) from the suppression of the bitterness.”

There is another reason we may crave some saltiness along with our sweet treats in the summer months. Stuckey said in her book, “We crave things salty when we’re hot because we lose sodium through sweat and we don’t have a way to store sodium. So Mother Nature builds in our craving for salt, which forces us to keep our body’s sodium electrolytes in balance.” This way you can say that you are actually doing something good for your body while eating a refreshing snack at the same time. 

An Italian grocer named Roberto gave some advice on choosing the best watermelon. He said, “When you knock on it, it should sound like a drum. It’s no good unless it’s at least 10 kilograms (22 pounds).”

If you are trying to avoid excess salt in your diet, adding some citrus can also reduce bitter flavors and bring out the sweetness of the watermelon. “It’s good with a little squeeze of lemon, too,” explained Roberto. 

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Would you ever try putting some salt on your watermelon? Have you heard of people doing this before? Let us know what you think and don’t forget to pass this along to your friends and family.