Some foods just taste better when salty (looking at you, fries). These 12? They don’t just use salt, they practically or literally bathe in it. Some of these are also everyday foods that could easily push your sodium levels into a dangerous territory. Brace yourself for the saltiest foods in the world!
12. Potato Chips
Wherever you are in the world, the usual suspects in a salty safari include potato chips and other salty snacks like crackers and pretzels. But let’s not lose focus on chips. A single serving of chips in classic flavor would give you 170 mg of sodium (7% of the daily recommended limit). That doesn’t sound too offensive, but let’s be honest…it’s so easy to get more than one serving of chips!
11. Ranch Salad Dressing
Ah, the famous ranch dressing. It seems like an innocent drizzle on your salad, but it could also be a salt bomb. Many commercially prepared salad dressings have surprisingly high amounts of sodium, and they’ve been added for flavor and as a preservative. A typical serving size (2 tablespoons) of ranch dressing can contain over 300 mg of sodium!
10. Feta Cheese
While cheese is naturally salty, there are certain types that can be surprisingly high in sodium. Feta cheese, for instance, is considered one of the saltiest in the world as it is preserved in a brine solution (a mix of water and salt). Processed American cheese and parmesan cheese also have more than 300 mg of sodium per ounce, so watch out for the sodium levels of your favorite burgers and pizza!
9. Salami
Salami is just one of the many processed meats that are high in sodium. An ounce of salami can easily pack over 300 to 500 mg of sodium (over 20% of the recommended daily intake). Also notorious for their saltiness are bacon (one slice can have up to 290 mg of sodium) and hot dogs (around 400 to over 1,000 mg of sodium depending on the brand).
8. Pickles
Pickles are often very salty due to the process of pickling through brining or fermentation. These would involve submerging cucumbers or other veggies in a solution containing salt and vinegar. There’s a good reason for it, though, since the solution inhibits bacterial growth. Just note that one small pickle spear can contain over 250 mg of sodium, while a cup of pickle can have over 1,800 mg of sodium.
7. Black Olives
In terms of natural taste, fresh olives are definitely not very nice, and so curing them to become more palatable was born. Similar to pickles, the process involves the use of a brine solution. Bottled or canned olives are almost always extremely salty, but keep an eye out on those marinated in oil and other spices, as they’re usually milder in taste.
6. Bouillon Cube
Those small hard cubes that are bursting with umami, and of course, saltiness, are a popular ingredient in kitchens on virtually every continent in the world. They enhance soups, casseroles, sauces, and curries, and when dissolved in water, they impart not just significant flavor but also sodium. A single cube can contain around 900 to well over 1,000 mg of sodium!
5. Yeast Extract Spread
In Australia and the UK, they have a dark, thick spread made with leftover brewers’ yeast extract. This spread has a strong, savory taste, and is often spread thinly on buttered toast. The flavor is so strong that you actually have to eat it sparingly. In Australia, Vegemite is the most popular example of a yeast extract spread, and people have likened it to a soy sauce, but in paste format.
4. Anchovies
Anchovies are popular in Mediterranean and Asian dishes, but you may have seen these small saltwater fish sold in can. While their distinct flavor can elevate a dish, they also pack a salty punch. A typical can with few fillets would have 800 mg of sodium, and per 100 grams, this could increase to over 3,000 mg! Yup, way over the recommended daily intake.
3. Salted Fish
Salting is a popular method for preserving fish in the Caribbean and Asia. The sodium levels in salted fish can be extreme that you need to soak the fish in water (to remove excess salt) before you actually cook them. While salting fish is an ancient, reliable practice of preservation, it has created a food that demands mindful consumption due to having high sodium concentration.
2. Soy Sauce
This liquid condiment of Chinese origin is world-famous but you’ll frequently see it in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. The dark sauce has become a staple in many households and restaurants because of its distinct umami richness that elevate marinades and sauces. It’s true that you won’t need a lot of soy sauce, but just one tablespoon of it contains 879 mg of sodium!
1. Table Salt
Table salt is an obvious offender but its sodium content can be a real shocker. For just one teaspoon of table salt, you get a staggering 2,325 mg of sodium or more than 100% of the recommended daily intake! That’s why a pinch of salt can already elevate a dish, and overdoing it has been linked to several health problems like high blood pressure, stroke, and kidney disease.