Which should be added first when cooking, salt or sugar? What is the role of adding salt or sugar when cooking?

We all know that cooking is very particular, especially the order of adding seasonings, especially sugar and salt. Many people add some salt and sugar when cooking to make the dishes more delicious. There are certain skills in the order of adding sugar and salt, so should we add sugar or salt first when cooking? Let's take a closer look!

Should I put sugar or salt first when cooking?

The usage of seasonings also requires careful attention. The correct order is to add sugar, wine, salt, vinegar, soy sauce and MSG first.

Adding sugar to dishes can increase the flavor of the dishes; adding sugar to marinated meat can promote the swelling of collagen protein, making the meat soft and juicy. In general, sugar can be added before cooking.

Salt can coagulate protein. If you are cooking protein-rich ingredients, do not add salt first. It is best to add salt when the soup is cooked and about to be removed from the pot.

But if you are stir-frying vegetables, you can add salt earlier so that the vegetables will cook faster, but not too early. If salt is added too early, the vegetables will release more water, and the nutrients in the vegetables will be lost. Generally, salt is added before the vegetables are served.

There are also different situations. For harder vegetables, you can add salt when they become soft.

If you use various spices, please put them in order. The ideal order is: sugar first, then salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and finally MSG. When cooking food, add sugar first until it is about half cooked, then add salt, soy sauce, etc.

The role of sugar and salt in cooking

Let’s first talk about the roles of sugar and salt in cooking. Generally speaking, sugar is used to enhance flavor, while salt is used for seasoning.

Let's first talk about when to add salt. Basically, every dish needs salt. The specific amount depends on personal taste, but it is not recommended to eat too salty, because excessive salt intake can easily lead to increased blood volume, increased lateral pressure on the blood vessel wall, increased blood pressure, and vascular hardening. In addition, eating too much salt will make people feel thirsty, and they need to drink a lot of water to relieve it. Long-term and large intake of salt will cause edema and increase the burden on the kidneys.

In order to prevent hyperthyroidism, iodine is generally added to serious cases, which is the so-called iodized salt. Because iodine has a low melting point, if salt is added too early when cooking, the iodine will evaporate prematurely and fail to achieve the effect of supplementing iodine.

Therefore, when adding salt to stir-fry dishes, it is best to do so just before taking the dish out of the pan, add the seasoning and serve the dish immediately.

What kind of dishes need to be fried with sugar?

1. For stir-fried dishes that require sugar, such as braised pork, or dishes that need coloring, you need to add sugar after the oil is heated, dissolve the sugar, and boil it into syrup. Only then will the finished product be bright red and attractive.

Some people also add sugar when making scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

2. No matter what dish requires sugar to be fried, you need to add salt when the cooking is almost finished. You can also add salt after turning off the heat. The high temperature of the dish and the pot is enough to melt the salt.

3. Today, as we pursue food diversity, sugar is still not a necessary substance for the human body. Although nutritionists recommend an upper limit of 50g of sugar per person per day, it is best to not consume sugar.