I really enjoy watching cooking competition shows like Iron Chef, Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen. Despite the fact that I've been watching these types of shows for over a decade, I have sadly acquired no equivalent enjoyment of actually cooking. I have next to no kitchen skills myself, so I am fascinated as I watch all the skills and culinary knowledge displayed on these shows. However, even more than watching the actual cooking on these shows, I enjoy watching the judging process. They usually bring in some truly expert culinary judges and occasionally a gourmet celebrity as well. These judges are on such a high plateau that the comments I expect to emerge from their mouths are things like "What this dish is really lacking is a touch of acidity to brighten up the overall flavor palate" or "Unfortunately, this dish is missing any hint of umami that I usually look for in an entree." Obviously, these sorts of high-brow critiques do occasionally emerge, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to articulate such examples, but what has really surprised me over the years is which critiques merit elimination from the competition and which critiques seem more acceptable somehow. You see, a critique that almost always earns someone disqualification is one that I can actually understand. "You did not salt your dish adequately." This seems to be a death knoll in culinary competitions. Somehow, if you don't use salt, your dish will be inferior to every other dish up there, and you will be eliminated. That fascinates me because salt seems relatively dull and commonplace to me. How could a lack of salt merit disqualification? But it does...seemingly every single time.
As I contemplate the importance of salt, I'm reminded that Jesus seemed to think salt was pretty important too. In Matthew 5:13, we read that Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." Seriously, why is everyone so obsessed with salt? What's the big deal about salt!? Well, I've done a little research on the matter, and I have 3 characteristics of salt that seem evident both today and in Bible times and so might shed some light both on my spiritual ponderings and on my initial culinary competition query.
1) Salt enhances flavors. They used it for this purpose both then and now. In fact, the judges on my shows usually say something like "You wasted a perfectly good filet by not seasoning it properly. If you'd just used enough salt, then all of the flavors of your dish would have come out." My 4 and 5 year olds concur as I practically wrestle the salt shaker out of their hands at restaurants.
2) Salt is a preservative. True both then and now as well. In fact, my husband and I have both watched these competitions nearly slack-jawed before as they pickle something during the competition. We look to each other and quietly say "Did you know that you could pickle something that quickly?" The answer, of course, is no, we didn't know. Feel free to send us a personal chef now. Seriously, we have no idea what we're doing in the kitchen, but I have learned that the preservative nature of salt has been vitally important over the years, especially before the days of refrigeration! Did the people in Jesus' time know about this characteristic of salt? You betcha!
3) Salt is valuable. Ok, you may think I've lost it now. I mean, salt seems to be nearly the cheapest thing to buy nowadays but hear me out. Back in the day, salt was ridiculously valuable. This is where the phrase "He's worth his salt" comes from. In fact, the word "salary" even comes from this factual tidbit. It is widely believed that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. They got a very literal SALary. Salt was valuable enough to be able to be used as currency like gold!! You may not think that is true nowadays, but after watching a few episodes of Cutthroat Kitchen, I can attest that chefs will pay THOUSANDS of dollars to be able to use salt. Salt is commonplace nowadays so by the law of supply and demand, we may not see the prices jump very high. However, salt still maintains a high value (as all those sad, eliminated chefs would probably testify).
With these 3 characteristics of salt in place, let's examine Jesus' declaration again. "You are the salt of the earth." We, as believers, must enhance the flavors of life, the flavors of the people around us. We are part of the formula to preserve life. We are valuable. That seems worthy of meditation! In fact, these are such big concepts and so worth meditating on that this post will only serve as the introduction for a series of posts on this topic of our saltiness. In the next several posts, we'll consider how we really embody these 3 salty characteristics. Finally, I believe we would be terribly remiss if we did not conclude the series with the actual ending of this salty verse in Matthew. "But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Big stuff, right? I hope you'll join me in this salty series!
As I contemplate the importance of salt, I'm reminded that Jesus seemed to think salt was pretty important too. In Matthew 5:13, we read that Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." Seriously, why is everyone so obsessed with salt? What's the big deal about salt!? Well, I've done a little research on the matter, and I have 3 characteristics of salt that seem evident both today and in Bible times and so might shed some light both on my spiritual ponderings and on my initial culinary competition query.
1) Salt enhances flavors. They used it for this purpose both then and now. In fact, the judges on my shows usually say something like "You wasted a perfectly good filet by not seasoning it properly. If you'd just used enough salt, then all of the flavors of your dish would have come out." My 4 and 5 year olds concur as I practically wrestle the salt shaker out of their hands at restaurants.
2) Salt is a preservative. True both then and now as well. In fact, my husband and I have both watched these competitions nearly slack-jawed before as they pickle something during the competition. We look to each other and quietly say "Did you know that you could pickle something that quickly?" The answer, of course, is no, we didn't know. Feel free to send us a personal chef now. Seriously, we have no idea what we're doing in the kitchen, but I have learned that the preservative nature of salt has been vitally important over the years, especially before the days of refrigeration! Did the people in Jesus' time know about this characteristic of salt? You betcha!
3) Salt is valuable. Ok, you may think I've lost it now. I mean, salt seems to be nearly the cheapest thing to buy nowadays but hear me out. Back in the day, salt was ridiculously valuable. This is where the phrase "He's worth his salt" comes from. In fact, the word "salary" even comes from this factual tidbit. It is widely believed that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. They got a very literal SALary. Salt was valuable enough to be able to be used as currency like gold!! You may not think that is true nowadays, but after watching a few episodes of Cutthroat Kitchen, I can attest that chefs will pay THOUSANDS of dollars to be able to use salt. Salt is commonplace nowadays so by the law of supply and demand, we may not see the prices jump very high. However, salt still maintains a high value (as all those sad, eliminated chefs would probably testify).
With these 3 characteristics of salt in place, let's examine Jesus' declaration again. "You are the salt of the earth." We, as believers, must enhance the flavors of life, the flavors of the people around us. We are part of the formula to preserve life. We are valuable. That seems worthy of meditation! In fact, these are such big concepts and so worth meditating on that this post will only serve as the introduction for a series of posts on this topic of our saltiness. In the next several posts, we'll consider how we really embody these 3 salty characteristics. Finally, I believe we would be terribly remiss if we did not conclude the series with the actual ending of this salty verse in Matthew. "But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Big stuff, right? I hope you'll join me in this salty series!
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