Reading the recipes

Every recipe and every pantry item on this site carries a few small marks: a cost tier, sometimes a flag, and a salt level. Here is what they mean. (Reading the labels on packaged food you buy at the store is a different skill, and it has its own page: Label Sleuth.)

Cost tiers

Cost tiers are relative, not absolute. They compare ingredients to each other, not to a fixed dollar amount, so verify against your own store.

$

Cheap. Buy freely.

$$

Moderate. Buy with intent.

$$$

Splurge. A little goes far.

Flags

A flag is a caution, not a disqualification. It tells you what to check or how to handle an ingredient so it still fits a no-oil, no-added-sugar, low-salt kitchen.

whole-food-fat

Calorie dense. Use as an accent, not a base.

natural-sugar

Sugar with fiber attached. Still concentrated.

sodium

Contains meaningful sodium. Dilute or use sparingly.

check-label

Commonly sold with added oil, salt, or sugar. Read the ingredients.

make-your-own

Store versions are usually salted. Blend it yourself.

caution

Requires specific handling. See notes.

Salt on recipes

The whole site keeps to little or no added salt. Each recipe says which it is, so you can see at a glance.

• No added salt flavor comes from acid, herbs, spice, and umami. No salt or salty ingredient is added.
• A little salt a small amount of a salty ingredient does real work, such as miso, tamari, mustard, or a few drops of liquid smoke.