Salt cools food down, pepper warms it up

Until I was 15 years old I believed sprinkling salt on hot food would cool it off enough to eat it. My father used to say "Whew! This is hot. Pass the salt, please." When I opted NOT to put salt in my tea to cool it off did my mother tell me the truth of the matter. Years later I found out ALL of my brothers and sisters thought the same thing. 

Roberta Robinson 

I thought if food was too hot putting salt on it would cool it down. If it wasn't hot enough, put on pepper, it made it hotter.

BokkyBoy

When I was little I believed that salt made food cool down. After all, every time
I told my mum that my food was too hot, she'd put salt on it. I still don't know why
she did this.

Ruth W

My father always use to put crushed red pepper on almost everything he ate. As a kid, I assumed that since "pepper" made your food hot, salt must make your food cold (sincd salt is obviously the opposite of pepper!).

Brent A

I used to believe that salt was used to cool food down, and pepper to make it hotter. I guess that this arose from someone telling me that pepper was hot. Anyway, i believed it until I was at least 5. Sad!

Jizzzzzzzzzzzo

I used to believe that when you put salt onto your dinner it would cool it down, so I put loads of salt on mine!!! YUCH!!

Clare N.I.

I used to believe that salt and pepper canceled each other out. Too salty? Add pepper. Too peppery? Add salt!

Mike

Before my father began to eat, he routinely sprinkled salt over everything on his dinner plate. For years I thought salt cooled hot food to an edible temperature.

Elizabeth

I used to believe that salt was sprinkled onto food too cool it if it was too hot. I believed this until I was about 15.

Shannon

My father said at the dinner table, "Hot, need salt." I also wanted salt cuz I thought it would cool down my food.

Sue A

When I was a kid, I always saw people putting salt on their food before they ate it. For years, I thought that salt was used to cool food down, not knowing it was a spice.

Anon

I used to believe that adding salt to food will make it cooler.

Ale Nijamkin

I used to believe that salt was used to cool down your dinner. The first thing my family did as soon as the dinner plate was set down was to put salt on it, and then eat it.

CiC

i thought salt made food cold, since pepper made it *hot*

cattiva

I thought that salt made your food cool, because after you salted it, whatever it was always cooled off. Simple cause and effect.

Todd

When I was little, about 3, I belived salt cooled hot foods off.

Anon

When my brother was little he thought that salt would cool off your food. It took us a while to figure out what he was doing; meanwhile he ate a lot of salt!

Laura

I used to think that the salt and pepper that sat on the table at mealtimes was for different uses. The salt was to cool you food if it was too hot and the pepper was to heat it up if too cold.

Susan

I used to believe that one of the primary functions of salt was to cool food off. I got this idea because every night my mom would say, "Here, put some salt on it, and let it cool off a bit."

Jenine

When I was little I would always complain that my food was to hot. To stop my my dad told me that if something was hot to put salt on it. This would call it off so I can eat it. I don't use much salt anymore, I think I got enough as a kid

Dennis