CHEF HANS NEUKOM HAILS THE HEALTHY SALT
After a little over four years of living in the Philippines, Swiss-German chef Hans Neukom has formed two interesting notions on Filipino food. First, Filipinos generally go for the strong pull between salty and sweet. Second, Filipino food’s identity is fuzzy vis-à-vis, say, Thai or Malay food, but therein lies the challenge for Filipino cuisine to evolve more fully by using pan-Asian herbs and spices that are also found in the country.
Chef Hans tackles these two challenges manfully—and joyfully—as resident chef of the Palms Country Club in Alabang by reeducating the Filipino palate. He recalls that for a time many members were asking for a “sweeter” spaghetti sauce—doubtless the standard taste of many a spaghetti sauce variation in the country. But he had consistently refused to put sugar in the sauce—“unless requested by a member for his or her child or guest,” Chef Hans says. Likewise, Chef Hans goes easy on the salt to balance the tendency of many Filipino diners to season their food with the usual soy or fish sauce.
With Palms’ emphasis on health and fitness, PANSALT® was the logical choice as the main flavoring agent of the Palms kitchens. “PANSALT® is excellent because you don’t lose the original flavor of salt,” says Chef Hans. “And our members have been very satisfied with the results.”
Chef Hans says that the club’s increasingly health-conscious patrons have been adapting to health trends slowly but surely. The consistent basic education on food has yielded some positive changes: today many diners at the club would prefer brown rice to white. As for the switch to PANSALT®, Chef Hans agrees that once the diners realize the product’s health benefits, they will definitely go for the healthier salt.
PANSALT® cuts sodium chloride to 56-57 percent and is rich in the essential minerals magnesium and potassium. Its unique and patented formula is the product of years of research and study by Finnish health experts. It has the same savory flavor as common salt, minus the sodium overload. It has also been found to remarkably improve the therapeutic effects of drugs used for the treatment of high blood pressure, and is virtually devoid of the harmful effects characteristic of common salt.
Because it has found great consumer acceptance—it has the best taste profile among low-sodium salts in the market, without any bitter aftertaste—PANSALT® is already being used in more than a thousand food products from hundreds of manufacturers across the world. PANSALT® flavors prepared meat products and processed food; prepared fish, dairy, hamburger, and bakery products; snack food; seasonings; and flour mixtures.
PANSALT®’s debut in the Palms Country Club no doubt sets the health trend in the right direction. Palms Country Club has a Japanese restaurant (Nishijin), the friendly all-day Café Asiana, and a Western-dining restaurant (The Continental). And the Palms community, comprising trendsetters as well, should be among the best spokespersons for the health merits of PANSALT®.
The shift to healthier options can be seen in Café Asiana’s promotion of chicken and fish as protein staples, and whole wheat grains as carbohydrate sources. The key to health, says Chef Hans, lies in good balance: “Any diet that deprives the eater of anything—carbohydrates, sugars, and protein is bound to fail.”
The Palms’ faith in PANSALT® is so great that their shakers are stuffed with the healthy salt. With all the cooking lined up for the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day in the next several weeks, it’s probably time you did the same thing at home.
