Making Life More Authentic and Flavorful
According to the company Sea Salt, who call themselves "purveryors of exquisite salts":
Salt elevates the flavor of food. Whether it's a pinch of kosher salt sprinkled on a dish or a complex seasoning like Himalayan pink salt, salt plays a crucial role in the culinary world. How salt affects the taste of food is fascinating and complex, involving both the physical properties of salt and its interaction with our taste buds. Salt enhances two of our basic tastes: sweet and umami while suppressing bitterness.
So just how does this work?
Enhancing Sweetness: One of the most significant ways salt affects flavor is by making sweet foods taste sweeter. Salt has the ability to suppress the perception of bitterness, which in turn highlights the sweetness in foods. This is why a small amount of salt is often added to sweet baked goods, such as cookies or brownies, or to desserts like caramel or chocolate. Salt reduces the bitter notes in these treats and makes the sweetness more pronounced.
Balancing Flavors: Salt can also create a more harmonious balance of flavors. In many savory dishes, a pinch of salt can round out the flavors, bringing a complexity that might be missing without it. It does this by acting as a flavor enhancer, intensifying the taste of other ingredients. For example, adding a touch of salt to a tomato-based pasta sauce brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, creating a well-rounded dish.
Enhancing Umami: Umami, often described as a savory or "meaty" taste, is another flavor that salt enhances. Salt interacts with glutamate, a naturally occurring amino acid in foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and cheese. This interaction amplifies the umami flavor, which is why salt is often used in conjunction with these ingredients to deepen the savory taste profile.
Salt and the Role in Texture and Mouthfeel: Salt also affects the texture of food in subtle ways. In baking, salt can strengthen the structure of doughs and batters by interacting with proteins, helping them bind more effectively. In meats, salt draws moisture to the surface, which can result in a crispy texture when cooked. This is one of the reasons why salted caramel or salted chocolate are so delightful—the salt enhances both the flavor and the texture, creating a multi-sensory experience.
When salt is applied to food properly, it is not so that we can taste the salt, but so that the food itself tastes more authentically as it should. Salt makes food “foodier.”
When Jesus’ disciples answer his call to be the salt of the earth, they help to make the earth more authentically as it should.
As we rise to the call, we can, for ourselves and others:
- Make the earthly experience "sweeter"
- "Reduce the bitter notes" of life
- "Create a more harmonious balance" to the chaotic experience of life
- "Enhance the flavor" of the every day experience
- "Deepen" everyday experience with meaning and purpose
- "Strengthen the structure" of life itself
- Bind us together in Christian love and unity
Our role in the earth is to enrich and enhance, making it more truly a realm of blessing for all humanity and creation.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet" (Matthew 5:13, ESV).
Blessed Life
A fan and a windmill -- two similar objects, similar shapes, similar parts, similar assembly. What sets them apart is the way they function.
A fan spins to produce air, while a windmill spins as a result of air blowing.
Some individuals act like fans. They produce a power and energy that brings coolness and refreshment to others. It might be in the form of uplifting words, advice, and comfort, or actions and attention directed towards those in great need. They have the heart to move and take action, influencing the people around them. Those whose lives are tapped into the love and power of God can, in turn, be a great blessing to others.
Others are like windmills.These people always wait for a push from others before moving or taking action. There is no initiative or desire to move on their own. Such people are individuals who "lack a heart" to serve. They do things out of obligation, not because of an internal drive or calling. They are "unplugged" from the source of power.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, NIV).
Sometimes Life Is Just This Random
Sometimes life is just so random. Take for example the “accidental” good fortune ($10 million worth!) of LaQuedra Edwards of SoCal, whose random collision with a stranger resulted in the haul of a lifetime.
As UPI reports:
Edwards had just put $40 into a lottery ticket vending machine at a supermarket in Los Angeles when "some rude person" bumped into her, causing her to accidentally push the wrong number on the machine.
"He just bumped into me, didn't say a thing and just walked out the door," Edwards said.
Edwards was quire resentful at first, because she had just put nearly all her cash into the machine, and was now committed to a lotto ticket that was not of her choosing.
She usually purchases cheaper tickets, but the accidental button push meant she'd bought a $30 200X Scratchers ticket.
Her annoyance and frustration was quickly turned to exuberant disbelief as she began scratching the ticket, only to find that she just won the $10 million jackpot!
Edwards said. "I pulled over, looked at it again and again, scanned it with my (California Lottery mobile) app, and I just kept thinking this can't be right."
The fact that such a thing could happen to one means that it could just as easily happen to anyone. God's love is indiscriminate and the random nature of life is meant to drive that point home.
Today it may rain on my field but tomorrow it may rain on yours. Either way, the message is the same. God loves us all indiscriminately.
"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Mattew 5:45b, NIV).