Salt Can Make Or Break Your Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie treats are a quintessential American dessert. A staple of bake sales and afternoon treats, these sticky, sweet, buttery delicious, crunchy bars are as iconic as the cereal that inspired their creation. Rumor has it that Rice Krispie treats made their debut in the 1930s, but did not include marshmallows; The recipe for the treat we all know and love didn't start popping up on the back of those Kellogg cereal boxes until the 1940s. 

Of course, while the original recipe is the classic way to make this sweet, and difficult to improve upon, plenty of lovers of the Rice Krispie treat have put their mark on it, adding candies, chocolate, peanut butter, and even patriot dried fruit. Alton Brown upgrades his Rice Krispie treats by toasting the cereal, and if you want a secret ingredient that will take your Rice Krispie treats to the next level, you might want to consider adding sweetened condensed milk to your buttery, marshmallow mixture of sugary goodness. However, there is one ingredient that can really make or break your favorite Rice Krispie treat recipe: salt.

Sweet and salty are the perfect combination, so it's no surprise that the addition of salt helps balance the flavor dynamic of this dessert. If you plan on following Alton Brown's lead and toasting your cereal, you will find it is dangerously delicious when mixed with the butter and marshmallows. This crunchy bite is definitely something to write home about. And if you really want to enhance the flavor of your Rice Krispie treats, you can sprinkle the squares with just a few flakes of sea salt. 

Why does it work? Salt is a go to when you want to dampen down those bitter tastes that come with some recipes; However, salt can also make a sweet flavor even sweeter just by contrast. That said, if you add too much salt to these cereal bars or any sweet recipe, you will find the sugary taste you desire will be overpowered by the salt, and no one wants that with Rice Krispie treats.

The next time you are mixing up a batch of these goodies, don't forget the salt.