How to reduce salt in vegetable soup

What's done is done, and hopefully our hacks have helped you reduce the saltiness of your soup after the fact. But where did you go wrong, and how can you avoid it in the future?

First, sample your soup as you add in seasonings, and incorporate salt gradually. You can taste for yourself when there's too little salt (or just the right amount) — this gives you the chance to balance the overall flavors of the dish as you go.

You might also not know this, but table salt is actually twice as salty as kosher salt, so be aware if you're using the former that you can easily take your soup from perfect, to saltier-than-the-ocean with a careless toss of your seasoning hand.

How to make ham soup less salty

Again, this is why it's important to taste as you go. Additionally, many go-to soup ingredients also contain a decent amount of sodium. Broth is one, but there can also be a lot of salt in canned beans, tinned tomatoes, processed or cured meats, cheese, and seasoning blends.

Be mindful of the saltiness of these ingredients before you reach for the shaker.