Here's Why Chefs Salt Food From So High Up

Watch enough old-timey cooking shows or even TikTok clips and, odds are, you see novices and celebrity chefs alike salting steaks, soups, and even seafood from some incredible heights. It seems like one of those habits that just gets replicated, even when the reenactor doesn't quite know why. The move is a little more cinematic than a simple flick of the wrist, but it also has real culinary merits according to the chefs we peppered about the acrobatic seasoning practice.

"We sprinkle the salt from a 6- to 8-inch elevation in order to get an even distribution on the product," Matthew Niessner, corporate executive chef of Hall Management Group, tells Chowhound exclusively. You also want to take one quick measure to keep everything tidy: "When seasoning at home, always have a plate, pan, or something that your item will be seasoned on. Most often, I will oil my product prior to seasoning, therefore having a vessel underneath to keep everything tidy. In my personal kitchen, I use a paper plate for the easiest possible clean-up."

Greg Garrison, chef and partner at Repeal 33 in Savannah, Georgia, and Prohibition in Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, aims even higher to prevent pesky salt patches and instead create a nice, even rain of grains. "​​You don't need to go overly dramatic with it, usually about a foot above the food is perfect," he tells Chowhound. At home, Garrison also ensures an easy cleanup by salting over the sink.

Chowhound tested salting techniques from both a 12-inch and a 6-inch height to see which elevation landed more consistently near the center of a 10-inch plate. Kosher salt tipped from a shaker from 12 inches above scattered the most evenly across the plate. The salt gathered a bit more in the center tipped from 6 inches. The universal pinch clumped the most at either height. We did not test table salt's aerodynamic qualities as it's terrible for cooking. The other top salts in your pantry may also perform differently.