"salty" news and stories

It's easy to get into the spirit of fall produce -- what's not to love about fresh apples and beautiful root vegetables? But it takes a true fall-lover to embrace the all of the candies of fall as well. You have to take the candy corn with the caramel apples, the liquorice with the maple sugar candy. Liquorice it seems, is a pretty divisive candy. If you hate it, you hate it. I love it, and here are some yummy variations that I've spotted across the web.

Liquorice Root Tea from Teaviews

Liquorice Altoids, reviewed by Candy Addict

Liquorice Caramels from the Vermont Country Store

Liquorice Pudding from Epicurious

Very Salty Liquorices from Dutch Sweets

Liqource Cupcakes from Apple & Spice

Liquorice Ice Cream from Chow

Chocolate Licorice from Chocolate Heaven

A recent study found that cherry tomatoes grown in salt water can turn out tastier and heartier than ones grown normally, partially because the plants have to fight harder to fight the environmental stress and produce more compounds to help them cope. These compounds contain antioxidants like Vitamins C and E, which have healthy effects on those who consume the fruit.

The solution only contains 20% seawater. Unfortunately, not all genotypes of tomatoes react in the same way to the salt water. Some die because they cannot counteract the free radicals from the solution, so don't try to do this with larger tomatoes; it probably won't work. In the study, the water was constantly circulated and the pH controlled by a computer, so the researchers promise that the tomatoes won't taste salty.

The researchers, based at the University of Pisaone in Italy, are encouraging the growth of tomatoes in brackish water, because it will not only lead to juicier, healthier tomatoes, but will help to preserve our freshwater supplies.

McDonald's has just announced that they will reduce the amount of salt on their french fries by 50% at stores across the Atlantic in the face of growing concerns about salt consumption from the public. The change will first take effect in Ireland and, since the salt content of fries in the UK as a whole has already been reduced by 24%, it would not take too much to spread the change to the whole area. The fast food chain also plans to eliminate trans fats over the next several weeks.

Apparently, these initiatives are part of a list of "10 commitments" to healthy eating, the environment and other PR-friendly causes that McDonald's is planning to follow to increase consumer confidence in the brand. It must be working, since they have reported an 8.8% increase in European sales in the last month alone. Or, of course, people are just addicted to the burgers.

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Generally speaking, salt by any other name is still salt, and whether you used large flake sea salt or plain table salt, your food will still turn out well. This is especially true of savory foods. In things like sauces and soups, all kinds of salt will dissolve due to the heat of the dish and produce equally flavorful results. When adding a spice rub to meat or simply adding a sprinkle to food already on your plate, the salt will not only add flavor, but a small amount of texture and a bit of crunch. You might find that while the saltiness is the same, you prefer to use larger, flaked salt for that extra edge. Salads, too, are usually enhanced by adding a bit of salt and using a coarser salt will really enhance the veggies in your bowl.

A representative for the Food Products Association asked the American Medical association why they were singling out salt as a health risk to the American public. Predictably, they cited evidence that salt may cause an increased risk of elevated blood pressure and heart disease. But is an increased risk enough to label salt as a danger?

There is no denying that there is a lot of salt in the foods we eat. The recommended daily amount of salt is about 2,400 mg, which is roughly a teaspoonful. Many people consume double that in a day. But the salt that we add to our homemade chicken dinners is not the problem; the greatest source of sodium in our diets is processed food. For example, a Big Mac contains over 1000mg of salt - half the recommended allowance. Unfortunately, because this salt isn't readily apparent to the eater, people don't know its there - and if they are told by their doctor to watch their salt intake, or take to heart the advice from the AMA, they end up watching the wrong places.