What Happened To The Salt

This is a personal gripe.

I eat out a lot, in fact almost all the
time, and rarely do more than open
a milk carton at home.

One thing I have noticed lately is that
restaurants are holding the salt on the
food. This, I think, is one of those culinary
fads that crop up all the time. Like for
instance the big egg scare of years ago,
when, after hundreds of years of eating
eggs in all ways, a bunch of nincompoops
decided that all eggs had to be cooked till
they were well done, or we would all perish.

The same thing happened later with
hamburgers, and now in many places you
can no longer get a medium rare burger.

Now many chefs are not using salt to season
their food, which is sort of like painting a
Picasso, and then putting a cloth over it so
no one can see it.

Now many physicians advise against salt,
but they also shill for drugs they don't know
anything about, and then; how many healthy
looking doctors do you know?

Many years ago an elderly Jewish woman
who lived next door to my family was put on
a no salt diet. (She was 82, and this got me
wondering about medical wisdom.) At lunch
at our house one day she said she didn't even
feel like eating anymore because her food no
longer had any taste because she no longer
used salt.

Being a smart ass teenager at the time I said,
"You won't live very long if you don't eat."

My mother was horrified, of course, but Mrs.
Snyder was non plussed. Then I offfered some
more teenage wisdom. "You're already 82," I
said. "Why don't you just eat what you want?"

At this point my mother was apoplectic, but
this seemed to strike a chord with Mrs. Snyder.
"You know," she said, you may be right about
that young man."

She went back to eating salt, and lived till she
was 91, a helluva good stretch for anyone. On
her 86th birthday she had a big steak, and a
baked potato with butter, sour cream, and salt
and pepper. I don't think I ever saw her happier.

The next time a doctor gives you advice, take it
with a grain of salt.

And chefs, salt your food, or eat it yourself.

From the big saddle,

Jim Whelan

P.S. Last night here in Antarctica we had Penguin
in orange sauce. (Just kidding) Nobody is going to
fight a walrus for his dinner, even me.

I gotta find my wetsuit. I got an invitation to go to
the penguin surf club, and the waves are breaking.

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