For some crazy reason, a memory of adding salt to watermelon to enhance the flavor came to mind recently. Maybe it was the dark chocolate we enjoyed with salt added. Other memories came up, including salting cantaloupe but not honeydew melon. Some people salt pineapple to draw out the sweetness.

Then my practice of eating peanut butter and mustard sandwiches as a child entered the dialogue. One family member came up with adding fresh ground nutmeg to wilted spinach to enhance the flavor. It really works.

A relatively scientific explanation for the practice of salting sweet things came from culinarylore.com. It asserts the following about adding salt to sweet or tart foods: “It is acidity that is responsible for a sour or tart flavor. Imagine a tart piece of fruit, such as an apple. You sprinkle a bit of salt on a slice of apple, and the tart apple tastes much sweeter. In reality, the apple has the same amount of sugar than before, as well as the same amount of acids. But, the salt diminishes your perception of the acidity, allowing you to taste the sugar compounds better.

So, the apple is not really sweeter, you just have an enhanced ability to taste what sweetness is there.”

I’m pretty sure daughter Rachel puts a little salt in her epic chocolate chip cookies.

My mother-in-law swore that chicken stock enhanced the flavor of beef stew and I think she added beef stock to her chicken soup. We have salted caramel flavored coffee creamer at the office. Then recently, Elizabeth read something that asserted salt is much better than sugar in our bodies, at the end of the day. Salted caramel ice cream gives you the best of both worlds.

Kosher salt is the rage for any meat going on the grill these days.

Before you know it, we will be getting a message from the government we all need to add more iodized table salt back into our diets. What is on your list of sweet things you like to salt? Send us your suggestions and experiences to isitjustme@tylerpaper.com.