Andy wrote:
> Some TV chefs remark that they add salt to bring out the flavor of other
> items in a recipe. Is this really true or is it just to give the ol' sodium
> taste buds a jolt?
>
Oh, this is a BIG subject. Salt does many, many things. If you're
really interested, check out this webpage for a list of books and
references to what it calls "Molecular Gastronomy." It has the
classics like Harold McGee's books and a bunch more, some popular and
some esoteric. Could lead to a lot of fun browsing, for those who
enjoy this sort of thing.

http://folk.uio.no/lersch/mat/index.e.html

One of the books in the first list on that page is "The New Kitchen
Science" by Howard Hillman. There are 23 entries for salt in the index
to that book, including two pages on "effect on taste perceptions" and
four entries on "seasoning with." -aem