What I learned from this video is that there people who don’t like salt and/or salad dressing - and they walk among us largely undetected. Be careful out there!

brb gotta season some popcorn for this one

yes i discovered long ago that when sauteeing onions, salting them as soon as they hit the pan makes them, and the entire dish, taste SO much better. there is a big difference when you give the salt time to pull out flavors from the onions rather than tossing it in at the end where it just sits on top of all the flavors and doesn't transform them.

Helen, so many people DO care about what you have to say about cooking! There are plenty of celebrity chefs with knife skills videos or meme "chefs" with their clickbait - but who taught me the science behind cooking skills? Who presented videos about the WHY behind knife sharpening angles, the details of the Maillard reaction, the differences among salts and salt substitutes? Who recommended a profound cooking book and presented real, practical cooking knowledge in an honest, approachable way? Helen did. And these are the things I use EVERY day in my cooking. The reason I can serve restaurant quality food to family and friends without being a trained chef is - primarily - because of Helen. So, please - keep doing what you do! You've made a difference in so many people's lives, and we all hope you get the views and admiration you deserve!💙

Wow, that metaphor about serving a cake with vanilla extract on the side was a great way to wrap my head about this lesson. You're brilliant!

The general positive vibe of Helen’s channel: Don’t be afraid of cooking! You can do it! Helen 5 seconds into this video: “First, we need to discuss the mathematical property of commutativity.”

This! I can't get my head around people who claim you can just salt your food at the table - it's a completely different experience from seasoning the food while cooking in proper order.

A margarita seems like a great example of this principle. Lot's of bartenders will add a pinch of salt to an acidic cocktail to make the flavors 'pop,' with the understanding that a small amount of salt in a drink won't make the drink taste 'salty.' In a margarita, you WANT the drink to taste salty - so you put the salt on the rim instead of in the drink, and the salt hits your palate first.

Helen is playing fire with a Dangerous Ragusea Meme. Some say Adam has never recovered, even after his move to Tennessee via the Meme Protection Scheme.

Thank you, as a trained chemist, I can assure you that you are making total sense here. I really appreciate the way way you explain commutative properties as applied to food, and you gave me a lot to think about in my own cooking. Food is more than mere fuel for our bodies; it’s how we show we care for others, it’s a gift we give ourselves after a long day, and it should always be delicious even if it’s just a simple green vegetable or starch. You helped me think about how to best season my food and to consider which tastes I want to emphasize (salt, sour, bitter, sweet, umami) for each item.

Helen, the measure of your worth is not in the number of viewers but in the quality of your content. For me, you already have the gold play button!

This matters in sandwiches too; the order of fillings in a sandwich matters. The texture of those fillings matters nearly as much as the flavour, because those textures and the order in which the flavour arrives *determines* the taste. In other words, the physical layering and arrangement of foods is not unimportant!

Forget liking and subscribing! When it comes to the bottom-line on KZfaq, ridicule is much more effective than praise. Wow Helen, this has to be an all time classic. Greetings to you from India. For a regular baker and an irregular chef like me, folks like you are my Michelin star teachers. Thanks for all that you do.

Hi Helen! I noticed unintentional pun in the beginning of your video ☺️ Adam: “Why I season my board and not my steak” Helen: “Well I’m not on board with that”

I am an occasional viewer. But every time I watch, I learn something. And... I like you more and more every time also. Thanks!

Honestly this video was a game changer- I made my own dressing with a pinch of salt as the recipe didn't include it, and followed the steps, heavy veg then gently fold into greens until coated. My partner who is a junk food lover tasted it, and said he could eat as a main meal for dinner, literally polished the bowl off. One of the best food experiences I've ever had 😭 Will be making way more salad and actually really enjoying it not just 'eating it because its okay and healthy'

You should go on the Chef John Podcast as a guest, I bet you could tell funny teaching stories for hours.

As always, basically a perfect breakdown. This woman is really a marvel, with what is by a very long way the best cooking channel on KZfaq, and I regret not having discovered her sooner than I did. I've been cooking at home (and occasionally professionally) for a couple of decades now, and what's amazing is that even when I'm fully confident that I know a subject inside and out, I'll watch a video of hers anyway, because she brings such a delightful freshness to everything. I'm also a teacher, and I can say that a lot of the magic in what she does really comes down to her manner. She's extremely pleasant and enjoyable to spend time "with," as well as being extremely efficient and self-assured with her lessons. This is a rare and precious combination of traits among teachers, as anybody will remember from their time as a student. Thanks, Hellen, for all the time well spent! I sincerely hope you go viral :)

in the last few minutes of this video this lady just took KZfaq to a whole new level. she said forget about liking and subscribing the bottom line is ridicule. how incredibly succinct and aware haha wow

I remember seeing in Nik Sharma's "The Flavour Equation" that adding acidity before salt enhances our perception of the latter when we are doing final seasoning, leading us to use less of it.

I love your videos. You are doing a great service to all of us “home cooks” who can not afford classes. Thank you.

It makes sense. Salt makes everything taste like more of itself. So adding it after the lemon, for example, would give us a more lemony flavor while also helping us detect some of the lemon sweetness and cutting the sourness. I like to add a small pinch of salt and every step instead of adding it all in one part or all at the end as most recipes direct.

You are always so pleasant; even your response to Adam's video is very informative and respectful! I love learning from this channel.

I think this works for adding sugar to things, too. Growing up, my mom would make iced tea and add the sugar, lemon juice and a few drops of mint extract while it was still warm. Tasted great. But when we'd go to restaurants and (back in the day of dinosaurs, I guess) ordered iced tea, sweetened was throwing in a packet of sugar instead of them doing it. I hated it because I could taste each component part instead of that nice blending. I just got used to having unsweetened iced tea (maybe with a squeeze of lemon) and forewent the sugar. Which I am glad of now as I've been cutting way back on sugar these days.

Helen, sooner or later your channel is going to go viral, the content is just too good! Most people are looking for soundbytes, but there is a contingent that is looking for real information, well presented. I predict 6 months. Just keep doing what you're doing. And thank you.

always thought recipes where the result of years of testing, improving, changing etc. never thought about the order of for instance seasoning. Thank you for opening this window and allowing me to widen my view.

Your voice is absolutely mind-blowingly incredible. It is almost impossible to communicate the extent to which it is pleasing to my ear.

Thank you for this, it proves something that I’ve been experimenting with because I have to be on a low, low salt diet. I have category two diastolic heart failure, and I must keep my salt intake from every source down to about 25% of a normal daily dose. Can’t say that I always make it but I do try. Sometimes there are foods that you have to salt or you’re just not going to eat them, but if I do salt them I will end up gaining several pounds in 24 hours if I do. Water that is. And most of it will go into my lungs. So I have to be very very careful. Believe me, bland diet‘s make it very difficult to eat anything at all. So I’ve started taking a pinch of sea salt and dropping a few grains on top of my serving. When I take a spoonful of rice and sauce or something with noodles and sauce, or on ite of a steak, or a chop, the first thing to hit my tongue is salt. It is a microscopic amount of salt compared to what would be in the dish if I salted the dish beforehand or put a salted sauce on top of the meat. But because I’ve put just a few grains of sea salt on top, just like a pretzel, my entire mouth now feels very salty. And since I’ve been on a low salt diet for a couple of years now, believe me it’s easy for me to taste salt and so I do not need much. Thanks for validating what I’m doing. I love your videos.

It makes me smile a lot to hear someone drawing parallels between mathematics and cooking! 😊

I can't ridicule such an amazing chef!! Thank you for your personable teaching. I'm a very experienced cook, and yet I always learn something new from you!! Keep it up, and you'll soon be viral! 🙂

KZfaq algorithm wants entertainment, not useful information. Don't bother yourself. Praise us with the good content that is what matters. I love cooking and that was truly a new concept for me. I usually mix all the ingredients in the meat and let it rest for one hour or less and then cook/fry it. I'll try different seasonings. Thank you.

Don’t know why this lady popped up on my feed, but I’m not mad. You’re truly a gift

I am sorry Helen. I could never ridicule someone who has taught me so much, inspired and amused me so effectively and generously. A truly gifted teacher, who makes the world a better place for those lucky enough to witness.

Helen, I’m on the west coast, wishing I could take one of your classes, in person. I love your videos. Every time I watch them I learn something new. Seasoning, properly, is something I love learning about. It’s the difference between being a passable cook and an excellent one. It takes any dish up a notch. Thank you for persevering!

This is exactly a level of conversation that I need when it comes to cooking videos! And what a pleasent lady! Subscribed instantly!

The most honest cooking content creator on KZfaq

Fascinating. I always have to add more salt to my already salted guacamole after splash of lime juice. Will try juice then salt next time!

Adam Ragusea's takes will cover the planet

Helen you are absolutely a delight and I am grateful I found your channel today. I take this concept a step further- I like to consider which side of the food will end up facing my tongue vs the roof of my mouth . For example, I arrange my next spoonful before putting it in my mouth such that sauces go on the spoon first and then pile the food on top. This guarantees that the maximum amount of sauce is tasted before getting swallowed. In the same vein: we don't appreciate how much flavor you miss out on if you just swallow food quickly without letting it touch the tastebuds. It *really* makes a difference. Anyway, I LOVE to find someone who thinks so deeply about food. I feel less weird!

Adam introduced me to this site. Great introduction! I'm glad I listened!

Man! You’re a true professional

Helen, your videos are full of info, very detailed, and very trustworthy. Your explanations are priceless and your voice is very soothing. You have a wonderful channel and a captivating style of teaching and showing us recipes. I hope you get the recognition you deserve. Any chance you'll have more online classes anytime soon?

QUEEN HELEN!! this is such an illuminating moment for me... wow. thank you so much

Just stumbled on you now, I love how you understand the algorithm and dont take yourself too seriously. BUT, more than that I think you really go into the subject in a very thoughtful way. You're clearly speaking from experience, but I love that you seem willing to question your preconceptions. All of it together makes your video very enjoyable and incredibly informative. Huge fan of what I just saw.

Omg this makes so much sense! I think this is exactly why when I eat street tacos in Mexico and add some spicy sauce and lime, they always need a little bit of salt at the top (even though the meat in the tacos is already salted and seasoned). I've been doing that since I was a kid and many people here do it as well. It always puzzled me. Great explanation!

Helen, have you considered that you're too effective of a teacher for the algorithm? You're videos and clean, clear, and so well scaffolded. Right now, you are probably hitting close to 100% on-topic, the whole video. Maybe it's time to consider an 80/20 off-topic/on-topic or even a 50/50 and pepper the videos with 2-3 sponsored ads and only release as youtube shorts... I'm kidding, I hope the algorithm blesses you without having to change. I know I have appreciated your lessons and presence over the course of the pandemic, so thank you.

This is the first video of yours that I've watched and I learned so much!!! Thank you, I can't wait to watch more!

Great vid! I always appreciate your vids because you explain your thought process. That is more important than ratios, measurements, or recipes. It helps develop an idea of how ingredients work together.

I hope you don't go chasing the numbers like some of the other KZfaq cooks out there (skater dude, puppy eye dude, guy with his shirt off, rich and almost bored lady) as well as some of the established chefs (with too many minute changes to the same 6 dishes). Your credibility is impeccable. Your direct style, with some pretty funny asides, is very engaging to me.

To My Fellow Cooks, Note: the following is an email I sent to my friends and fellow cooks: Although this video contains some complex explanations, I have to send it to you because I am in it. When she talks about a student she had last year that she will refer to as Harold, that Harold is actually me. The photo she shows is the photo of my salad that I made while attending her class, and sent the photo to her. Ha! (And Helen, I’m totally cool with you sharing this.) It truly was a good wake up call for me although you guys may have known this from the get-go. The resolution in my case was never to drizzle dressing on top of a salad. Rather, I was to dress it. That is, to mix the dressing in a bowl, add the salad, and lift it with my fingers so that it would be evenly distributed among the ingredients. Makes a big difference! “Confessing your sins one to another” has some advantages. For one, it makes me a bit more humble, and secondly may be of benefit to those who learn from my mistakes. So have a laugh on me. And, thank you Helen. I always learn from you.

This is probably the most educational and truely brilliant video for cooking is have seen in the longest time. Wow!! My mind is blown

Helen you been helping me so much in improving my cooking. Thank you!!!

I learned from my glancing contact with recipes for Indian cooking that the order in which seasonings are applied has a big influence on the final enjoyment of a dish.

I remember accidentally discovering my personal favorite salad dressing - freshly squeezed lemon juice with salt. At some point, I realized that for me, lemon juice and salt need to be mixed beforehand and then mixed into the salad together - any other use of those two ingredients just didn't work as well for me.

Thank you for captioning your content so well! It makes such a huge difference for accessibility.

I never expected to hear about commutativity in a cooking channel but I love it

I could never make fun of you your videos have been so helpful. Thank you for being you.

I never thought about this but it makes total sense -- thank you for the video!!

Helen please never stop making videos I love every single one of them

This is my first time seeing your videos and I think you have such a lovely style and personality. Thanks, and I look forward to more!

I always enjoy how pleasant you are in your vids. I wish I could take a class with you chef! 🙏well informed and educated much more than the gimmicky cooks on here. Just straight to the point and educational without being condescending. You are a pro

@Helen Rennie I made your small container liver pate last weekend. It was the best liver pate I have ever made. The recipe is a keeper for me now. Thanks for making the video’s you make. I wish I could make it to Boston to take a class in person.

This is one of the best videos I’ve seen so far in 2022! Thank you.

Subbed. Clear and concise commentary on dressing and seasoning your dishes.

Waiting for Adam Raguseas "Why I season my Acid, not my salt"

Been cooking since I was a young child, and have even done so in a restaurant setting. There is some very obvious but clearly overlooked insight in this video, thank you for the wisdom, I subbed and look forward to watching more of your videos!

Very insightful, Helen. Your finer points shine light on the equation in ways that open the eyes to understanding

Helen asking for ridicule over subscribers is EXACTLY what convinced me to subscribe! Love the fact that I've found a new channel to devour all the foodie facts ❤️❤️

I don't learn recipes, I learn techniques and concepts. I like videos like these where I don't learn so much how to cook such and such, but concepts I can translate to everything I cook

I am very glad the Algorithm recommended one of Helen’s videos to me a few months ago. The quality of the editing, the recipes and techniques, the dry humor… She should really have more views and subs!! Now she’ll have to get the other 2 Adam memes under her belt (white wine and chicken vinegar on the right)!

excellent notion summed up perfectly "last in first out" you've done it again.

The science of seasoning is intriguing thank you for shedding more light on the subject.

Ethan Chelbowski and Pro Home Cooks did a recent video on spices and herbs. For the serious home cook I think it is a fantastic intro into the idea of flavor profiles evolving with heat. I feel like this video is in the same vein. Adding acid at the beginning of the cooking process cuts almost all of the brightness, adding it at the end keeps most of it, adding it on the plate doesn’t keeps all of it. Same with salt. The process steps, order of operations, and timing are what I find take my cooking from good to great using the exact same recipe and ingredients.

Yes. My dad loved salt, which my mom wanted him to eat less of. To him, salting at the table was always necessary. She would salt while cooking and get angry that he salted at the table. She said it wasn't needed because she'd salted it while cooking. Honestly, I constantly suggested she just stop salting his food when she cooked it and let him do his thing at the table.

I don't care about cooking but I love the way you speak eloquently and calmly and explain things 😁

Can't express how much autenticity I felt in this video! This is not somenthing I have been getting from youtube recently and I would love to tell you I appreciatted a lot! :)

What an amazing video! In Australia I am often served a 'naked' salad, one without dressing. The dressing is put on the side, and it never does seasons well. I also have found that I seem to add salt, acid and the salt again. I will continue to do that, but now I know why. A million thank yous for all I've learned from you over the years.

I like what Adam has to say in general about broad topics, but I appreciate the detail work that you have about fine tuning. I remember specifically running into that warping baking sheet phenomenon and being so confused by it until I watched your video on it!

This video’s been popping on my recommendations for a while and I finally watched it, I think it has just the right amount of information and style. Thanks Helen, you’ve gained a subscriber

Hey, thanks! Great concepts that helped me understand why a piece of lamb I cooked recently marinated and afterwards basted in hand-chopped salsa Verde needed that much extra salt when it hit the table. Cottage cooking is always a challenge when you don't have the tools you're used to. Still fun of course!

Thank you for the clarity here! I'm really having a "makes sense and is logical", but coming up with it is not that easy. It's also a good explanation on why Salt and Pepper added on the table is much more "potent", it kind of "coats" the outer layer of the food, making contact with your tastebuds, instead of being mixed up in the food.

Great topic, Helen! Thank you for posting this video.

I really enjoy your videos Helen. You keep it real and give great info. for beginners and intermediate cooks, and you have a fun personality :)

Thank you for a really good discussion of seasoning food. I learned to season early, like at the beginning of a cook so salt blends well. These cooking show on tv always bother me when they insist something isn’t seasoned because they can’t taste the salt. I agree with you, salting properly done enhances flavors but doesn’t stand out on its own.

I love the intersection of mathematics and food. Very interesting concept! I think this explains why I dislike some vinaigrettes. Might need to rethink my dressing application. Thank you Helen!

I don't even watch cooking videos like that, but KZfaq recommended this video to me. You're delightful!

This whole video was waaaay better than what I expected!!!

OMG THE ADAM RAGUSEA THUMBNAIL

This was actually quite interesting! I eat a salad for dinner 3 or 4 times a week (these are actually a whole meal with protein and everything, mostly tuna fish). I have noticed that saltiness and acidity vary greatly from one salad to the next, and I have wondered more than once if the order of the ingredients (I season with olive oil, balsamic or red wine vinegar and salt) was actually important. I alway ended up thinking that those variations in taste were mostly due to "eyeballing" the seasoning. I will make sure I add the salt as the last ingredient because sometimes it surprises me that I seem to need to add much more salt than others in order to hit the desired level of saltiness.

Brilliant, Helen!! Thanks again for sharing

You're the best Helen. Thank you

What I like to do is, if I'm making an ensemble of veggies like corn + peas or potatoes + beans, I will cook the salt/acid into one of them more than the other. I like to have my flavors not all integrated with each other, so that lets me cook the seasoning properly into the food, without making a uniformly-seasoned result. So I can have some bites that pop more with one seasoning than another, and then take another bite that shines on a different dimension of the seasoning than the first. It might be a little evil, because it plays with addiction and reward-seeking trying to find that perfect bite again, but I like it. But, I also like to add a splash of vinegar right before I eat (especially on top of a bowl of soup) -- which you specifically discourage in this video, so I'm not sure how much others like that kind of effect!

Helen, this is really profound. I've watched some of your videos before but this came up completely randomly as a youtube suggestion. Some thoughts on this: chemists know that reactions happen faster when reacting surface is increased (reactions only occur when reagents are in contact, so only on the surface, unless it's liquids or gases). A few flakes of salt on the tongue give a far greater concentration vs. salt dissolved in lemon juice or vinegar and spread out. I think this is well illustrated with large salt crystals on top of pretzels (I can only imagine how nasty it would be to just add the same amount into the dough). It's better to get a few intensely flavored morsels on the palate, rather than a whole bunch of intensely salty everything. I think that's why large shavings of parmiggiano in a salad work better than grated powder of parmesan. And really, it's why kosher (flaky) salt is better than "table salt" (tiny crystals) for finishing (in soup or sauce it makes no difference). Using coarser salt is a way to consume less salt while not getting less salty taste. Back when sugar was in short supply, in Russia there was a concept of "чай с сахаром вприкуску" - instead of dissolving a spoon or three of sugar in one's tea, one would gnaw on a little cube of sugar along with their tea, enjoying a similar sweetness, while using less of the precious sugar (I've only read about this in books). I would also guess that squeezing a lemon over salted food washes away some of the salt. Which is why when I'm using a bit of oil, vinegar, Worcestershire or citrus on a roast or steaks, I apply all the liquid, then the salt and dry rub, so it sticks to the liquid. But then, if it's a full submersion, like brining a turkey, then it doesn't matter. I like salting (kosher or coarse salt) a cut of meat before cooking. Salt draws to the surface water-soluble proteins, which help with the crust. I've heard plenty of matter-of-fact assertions, like "salt dries out meat" and that it should only be salted after cooking. Obviously that's not true, I rarely ever end up with dry meat, usually if I wasn't attentive to timing. Not sure how anyone can "hate salt" - it's an essential nutrient and a taste we naturally crave. There's nothing else in nature that replaces it. But yes, too much salt would be repulsive. Loved the video. Sorry, I don't do ridicule, so I write lengthy comments instead ;)

This is the video that first introduced me to your channe a few weeks agol. Since then I've been binging your videos every day! I'm not even much of a cook but I find your content so engaging and relaxing to watch, and I've learned so much about cooking. Keep making great videos!

I’ve been having a conversation about this a lot at home lately - this is so helpful, Helen, thank you!! 😄💛

This is so interesting! It also reminds me a lot of drinking culture, like where you lick salt and citrus before a shot of tequila, or use a salt/zest/sugar rim on a cocktail or highball glass. First impressions matter

Oh man! I haven’t even watched it yet, but just by the title I imagine this topic is about a lesson I also just recently learned! Is it about how you should wait to season until after you’ve added your acids? Because that definitely is a lesson I learned recently in my salsa verde. Let’s find out! ::Edit:: Oh wow. A lot more content than I had imagined. Well, towards the beginning of your video you did allude to my thoughts : I have recently learned that you can’t try to nail down the salt seasoning without also adding the acid. The acid acts like such a flavor-enhancer that its little buddy salt can’t shine without it. I was making salsa verde and I kept adding more and more salt and it just wasn’t popping. And once I added some acid, BOOM! The salt was more pronounced than I had intended, and I realized my error. I have also made the same mistake with other sauces, even hollandaise. I would adjust the salt until it was just right, and then once I added the acid, all of a sudden the salt was overpowering because the acid kind of amplified it. So now my own rule is that if a liquid component of a dish is going to be driven both by acid and salt, I like to adjust the acid first and then dial in the salt, in that order.

This is such a good breakdown. Bravo.

Smart. I like the patience and attention she put into this....

#realcomment This was incredible. The use of an abstract mathematical concept with no apology and staring down the youtube algo… Truly you are the greatest. One question, is seasoning associative?