Mediterranean Umami Wins IFT17 Food Expo Innovation Award | 2017-07-07 | National Provisioner

Salt of the Earth Ltd. is honored to announce that its flagship sodium-reduction ingredient, Mediterranean Umami, won an IFT17 Food Expo Innovation Award. …
#dining #cooking #diet #food #MediterraneanIngredient #award #IFT #Mediterranean #MediterraneanUmami #SaltoftheEarth
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2661921/mediterranean-umami-wins-ift17-food-expo-innovation-award-2017-07-07-national-provisioner/

Mediterranean Umami Wins IFT17 Food Expo Innovation Award | 2017-07-07 | National Provisioner

Salt of the Earth Ltd. is honored to announce that its flagship sodium-reduction ingredient, Mediterra…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #mediterranean #MediterraneanDiet #MediterraneanFood #MediterraneanIngredient #award #IFT #Mediterranean #MediterraneanUmami #SaltoftheEarth
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2661921/mediterranean-umami-wins-ift17-food-expo-innovation-award-2017-07-07-national-provisioner/

The Gospel isn't a spice rack; it’s a blast furnace. Stop being "nice" and start being the catalyst that turns the world's smoke into a roar. It’s time to find your sting. 🧂🔥

#MasculineFaith #FireStarter #SaltOfTheEarth

https://bdking71.wordpress.com/2026/05/10/the-salt-and-the-smolder/

Goodnight friends. I did this in my home studio one afternoon about 20 years ago.

#Stones #SaltOfTheEarth

The Salt and the Scale: Reclaiming the Masculine Mission of the Gospel

1,634 words, 9 minutes read time.

The modern man has been fed a sterilized, pastel version of the Gospel that would make the rugged laborers of the first-century Levant gag. We have turned the command to be “Fishers of Men” into a polite invitation to a tea party, stripping away the salt, the scales, and the bone-deep exhaustion that defines the call. When Jesus stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and called Peter and Andrew, He wasn’t looking for polite conversationalists or moral bookkeepers; He was recruiting a crew for a grueling, dangerous rescue mission into the chaos of the human condition. This was a tactical pivot from one form of grit to another, demanding men who understood that the Kingdom of God isn’t built in a cathedral, but hauled out of the murky depths of a broken world. The life you are currently living—sanitized, comfortable, and risk-averse—is a betrayal of the calling that was forged in the spray of the sea and the weight of the dragnet. You are called to the deep, yet you are content to sit on the dock and polish your boots while the world drowns. It is time to face the brutal reality of the fisherman’s craft and realize that if your faith doesn’t smell like sweat and struggle, it isn’t the faith Jesus demanded.

Biblical Manhood and the No-Judgment Reality of the Catch

The first pillar of this calling is the absolute destruction of the “gatekeeper” mentality that plagues modern Christian circles. In the commercial fishing industry of the first century, a fisherman casting a dragnet did not have the luxury of pre-screening the catch; he cast into the deep and hauled in whatever the sea yielded. This is the “no-judgment” reality that men today fail to grasp because they are too busy acting like moral auditors rather than rescue workers. When you view the world through the lens of a fisherman, you realize that fish are simply creatures of nature, acting according to their environment. They are not “good” or “bad” while they are in the water; they are simply the catch. Your obsession with judging a man’s beliefs or actions before you even get him into the boat is a coward’s excuse to avoid the work of the haul. You want a clean catch without the mess of the water, but the Gospel demands that you throw the net over the side and embrace the chaos.

This requires a fundamental shift in how you view the “lost.” They are not enemies to be defeated or subjects to be analyzed; they are souls submerged in an element that is slowly killing them. A fisherman understands that the net is the instrument of grace, an unmerited invitation to a different world. If you find yourself standing on the shore, pointing fingers at the “sinners” in the water, you have failed the most basic requirement of the crew. You are not the judge; you are the deckhand. The sorting happens on the shore, at the end of the age, and notably, it is handled by the Master, not the fishermen. Your pride has convinced you that you are the quality control officer, but the truth is you are just another man on the rope. Stop waiting for the world to “clean up” before you engage; the cleaning happens after the catch, and it isn’t your job to begin with.

Tactical Intelligence and Reading the Water of the Human Condition

A man who cannot read the water will never fill a boat, and a man who does not understand the pressures of his fellow man will never lead a soul to Christ. Success on the Sea of Galilee required more than just strong arms; it required an intimate, tactical knowledge of currents, thermal layers, and the behavior of the prey in the dark. This is the “Reading the Water” argument that most men ignore because it requires actual effort and observation. You are sleepwalking through your interactions, oblivious to the “water” your neighbors, coworkers, and friends are drowning in. They are submerged in the freezing currents of debt, the crushing pressure of failing marriages, and the silent, dark depths of isolation. If you cannot sense the shift in the “weather” of a man’s life, you are useless to the mission. You must develop the discernment to see beneath the surface of the “I’m fine” mask that every man wears.

Developing this tactical intelligence means you stop speaking in platitudes and start speaking in reality. You have to know the depth at which a man is struggling to know where to cast the net. This isn’t “empathy” in the soft, modern sense; it is reconnaissance. It is the hardboiled realization that every man you meet is fighting a war you know nothing about, and your job is to find the opening. If you aren’t paying attention to the environment—the culture, the local struggles, the specific weights that are dragging men down—then you are just splashing around in the shallows and wondering why your net is empty. The mission requires a sharp mind and a cold eye for detail. You must become a student of the human condition, learning the signs of a soul that is gasping for air so you can be there with the rope when the time is right.

The Brutal Necessity of the Brotherhood and the Hidden Labor

The most dangerous lie you’ve bought into is that the Christian life is a solo trek. In the first century, the dragnet was a massive, heavy tool that required a coordinated crew and multiple boats to operate effectively. The “Power of the Net” is the power of the brotherhood, and the fact that you are trying to “fish” alone is why you are failing. A lone man on a rope is a man who will eventually be pulled into the water himself. The mission demands a crew of men who know their place on the line, who row in sync, and who don’t let go when the weight becomes unbearable. If you don’t have a “foxhole” of men who are as committed to the haul as you are, you aren’t a fisherman; you’re a hobbyist. You need the collective strength of the brotherhood to pull against the current of a world that wants to keep its own. This is about shared labor, shared risk, and the total abandonment of the “lone wolf” ego that is rotting your spiritual potential.

Furthermore, you must accept the “Hidden Nature” of this work. Most of your labor will happen in the dark, beneath the surface, where there is no applause and no immediate sign of success. Fishing is an act of persistent, gritty faith; you cast the net into the murky deep because you trust the mechanics of the mission, not because you see the fish. You must learn to work the depths without needing to see the prize every five minutes. The modern man is addicted to instant feedback, but the Kingdom of God moves at the pace of the haul. It is long hours of silence, repeated casts, and the back-breaking work of pulling in a net that feels empty until the very last moment. If you can’t handle the anonymity of the deep-water grind, you will quit long before the catch arrives. The soul of a man is deep water, and the work of reaching it is often invisible, thankless, and slow.

Your current disaster of a life—the stagnation, the boredom, the feeling of uselessness—is the direct result of you standing on the pier while the Master is calling for a crew. You have traded the salt and the struggle for a padded chair and a comfortable life, and your soul is dying because of it. To be a “Fisher of Men” is to embrace the smell of scales, the sting of the salt-burn, and the reality that you will get dirty. It means engaging with the “smelly” parts of human existence—the addictions, the failures, the raw, unrefined nature of men—without flinching. Stop making excuses for your lack of impact and stop waiting for a “safer” opportunity. There is no safety in the deep, only the mission. The tide is turning, the boat is pushing off, and the Master is looking at you. Either get your hands on the rope and start hauling, or admit that you’d rather rot on the shore than live the life you were made for.

Call to Action

The boat is leaving the shore, and the Master isn’t looking for spectators. He’s looking for a crew. You have two choices: stay on the dock, safely clutching your clean clothes and your excuses, or get your hands on the rope.

Stop waiting for a “better time” to get your life in order. Stop pretending that your silence is “patience” when it’s actually cowardice. The mission is messy, the water is deep, and the stakes are eternal.

Get on your knees, find your crew, and get back into the haul. The deep is calling. Will you answer, or will you rot?

D. Bryan King

Sources

• Fishing Economy in the Sea of Galilee – Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 2011
• The Galilee Fishing Industry in the First Century AD – Associates for Biblical Research, 2006
• Socio-Economic Aspects of the Sea of Galilee – Brill Publishing, 2002
• Environmental Dynamics of the Sea of Galilee – PNAS, 2012
• Ancient Fishing Techniques and the Biblical Narrative – Journal of Biblical Literature, 1998
• Social World of the New Testament – Oxford Bibliographies, 2015
• The Fish of the Sea of Galilee – Israeli Journal of Aquaculture, 1992
• Daily Life in Ancient Palestine – Library of Congress, 2005
• The Fisherman in Roman Art and Economy – Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974
• Archaeology of the Sea of Galilee – Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 2016
• Social History of Roman Palestine – Cambridge University Press, 2010
• The Sea of Galilee and its Fishermen – Hebrew Union College Annual, 1980

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author. The information provided is based on personal research, experience, and understanding of the subject matter at the time of writing. Readers should consult relevant experts or authorities for specific guidance related to their unique situations.

Today in Labor History March 14, 1954: Salt of the Earth premiered. The film depicted the 1951 strike of Mexican-American workers at the Empire Zinc mine, in New Mexico. The film was one of the first to portray a feminist political point of view, particularly through Actress Rosaura Revueltas’s role as Esperanza Quintero. When the Company uses the new Taft-Hartley Act (which also bans General Strikes) to impose an injunction preventing the men from picketing, their wives go walk the picket line in their places. LGBTQ and labor activist Will Geer (Pa Walton) also played in the film. Writer Michael Wilson, director Herbert Biberman and producer Paul Jarrico had all been blacklisted for their alleged communist ties. Only 13 of the 13,000 theaters in the U.S. showed the film.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #SaltOfTheEarth #strike #union #generalstrike #lgbtq #TaftHartley #communism #feminism #MexicanAmerican #chicano #film #blacklist

When Ordinary Lives Become Preserving Grace

A Day in the Life

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” — Matthew 5:13

When I sit with Jesus on that hillside in Matthew 5, listening as He teaches what we now call the Sermon on the Mount, I feel the weight of His words. He does not say, “You should try to become salt.” He says, “You are the salt of the earth.” That identity comes before activity. Salt in the ancient world was not decorative; it was preservative. Without refrigeration, salt slowed decay and protected what would otherwise spoil. In the same way, Jesus describes His followers as agents of preservation in a world corroded by sin.

John Stott once wrote, “The Christian’s influence is to be a restraining influence in a decaying society.” That line has stayed with me. I look at my own life and ask, Is there a restraining presence because Christ lives in me? When Jesus speaks of salt losing its flavor, He is describing something unnatural. Pure salt does not simply stop being salt. But when mixed with impurities, it becomes diluted, compromised, ineffective. The issue is not the world’s corruption; it is our contamination. If I am not in a right relationship with my Lord, the preserving power of Christ cannot flow through me as it should.

So I test the “saltiness” of my life. I begin at home. Is my family strengthened spiritually because I am present? Do my words reduce anxiety or inflame it? Do I model repentance and humility? It is easy to speak boldly about cultural decline while neglecting the atmosphere around my own table. Jesus’ words call me first to integrity in the closest relationships. If I am salt, then my home should taste of grace.

Then I look at my workplace. Whether that is an office, a classroom, a garage, or a church hallway, I ask: Are destructive influences subtly halted because I am there? Not because I preach at everyone, but because Christ’s character is expressed through me. The presence of Jesus in me makes His life available to others. His salvation can free an addict, mend a broken home, heal the pain of the past, restore a wayward child, and comfort a grieving heart. But this does not happen through slogans; it happens through surrendered vessels. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” The treasure is His; the vessel is ours.

I also consider my community and church. Is there measurable spiritual improvement around me? Not perfection, but movement toward health? Salt works quietly. It does not announce itself; it does its work steadily. In the same way, the Christian life is often unremarkable to the world yet decisive in impact. D. A. Carson observed that the Beatitudes and the salt metaphor are inseparable: “The standards of the kingdom produce the influence of the kingdom.” If I am not cultivating poverty of spirit, mercy, purity of heart, and hunger for righteousness, then I should not expect preserving influence.

There is a sobering edge to Jesus’ warning: salt that loses its saltiness is “good for nothing.” Those are strong words. He is not threatening our salvation; He is confronting our usefulness. When my life is spiritually dull—when prayer is neglected, Scripture ignored, repentance postponed—I become less effective in dispensing God’s grace to others. None of His saving power can be shared through a vessel that is closed off.

This pushes me back to relationship. Saltiness flows from intimacy. The more closely I walk with Christ, the more His nature flavors my responses. I do not manufacture influence; I receive it. I do not produce preservation; I participate in it. As Jesus lives through me, my presence in a room, a family, or a workplace begins to make things spiritually better instead of worse.

That is the real diagnostic question: Are people around me deteriorating spiritually, or are they being quietly strengthened? If the answer troubles me, the remedy is not self-condemnation but realignment. I go to my Lord and allow Him to adjust my life. I ask Him to cleanse impurities, renew my hunger for righteousness, and restore the joy of His salvation. Psalm 51:12 becomes my prayer: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” Only then can I teach transgressors His ways and see sinners turn back to Him.

Today, I want to walk through my ordinary routines aware that I am not neutral. I either preserve or I permit decay. I either reflect Christ or I obscure Him. Jesus did not call us to retreat from the earth but to season it. In every conversation, decision, and silent act of integrity, I am participating in His mission.

For further study on the Sermon on the Mount and the meaning of being salt and light, see this helpful resource from The Gospel Coalition:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/sermon-on-the-mount-salt-light/

As I move through this day, I pray that my life will carry the distinct taste of Christ—noticeable not because it is loud, but because it is life-giving.

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Salt of the Earth: umami can reduce sugar

News 19 Mar 2018 Salt of the Earth has announced that its Mediterranean Umami is also effective for sugar reduction, answering demands for tasty, clean-label foods with both lower sodium and less sugar. Salt of the …
#dining #cooking #diet #food #mediterranean #MediterraneanDiet #MediterraneanFood #MediterraneanIngredient #Mediterranean #saltoftheearth:umamicanreducesugar
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2439198/salt-of-the-earth-umami-can-reduce-sugar/