Almost every recipe I've ever used has either barely mentioned seasoning or just elliptically added "season to taste" at the end of an instruction. If it's so key, ... Salt brings the best out of food and – regardless of whether people say it's bad for you or not – the body needs salt to work properly. read more
I am no expert, but the salt induces the reverse osmosis effect on the ingredients of a dish. This behaviour of salt, brings out the flavors from ingredients of our food. read more
There are certain sweet receptors that are only activated in the presence of salt. Therefore, when eating something with only sugar these receptors will not fire until salt is also available, making the sugar + salt taste sweeter than the sugar alone. Check out Charles Zucker's work. He is the leading expert on taste. read more
However, salt does seem to “bring out the flavor in foods,” as you’ve no doubt heard chefs say. How, exactly salt enhances flavors in foods is not completely understood, but it seems to have the almost magical ability to suppress certain flavor compounds while enhancing others. read more