Salt

Campbell Soup Co. is searching for the "NutraSweet of salt. " Salt enhances the flavors in products - without it they just don't taste the same. But it also can be a health hazard, particularly for the large portion of the population suffering from high-blood pressure. "The problem is that nothing else tastes like salt," said James T. Heimbach, head of the consumer-research staff of the Food and Drug Administration. Added Larry A. Carpenter, senior marketing manager of Campbell's soups division, which uses a lot of salt: "No one has been able to come up with a substitute as good as salt.

In a letter to the editor (July 7), a writer states: "Current estimates of the gay population in the United States range from 20 million to 30 million. " The writer gives no source for the estimates. When sources are not given, one should take the estimates, such as the writer gives, with a big grain of salt. Out of the approximately 240 million population in the United States, approximately 57 million are singles (never marrieds, widows, widowers and divorced people) 18 and older.

Dear Polly: I have several recipes calling for salt pork (stews, chowders, etc.), which I cannot find in my local supermarkets. Is there a substitute? - Mrs. D.G. Salt pork comes from the fatty belly of the pig. It is heavily salted (hence its name) and can be kept in the refrigerator for four to six weeks. I usually substitute bacon for salt pork. The bacon contributes a different flavor, since it is smoked and salt pork is not. Personally, I prefer using the bacon to the salt pork since I find the smoky flavor of bacon more attractive and interesting in these dishes, though purists may object.

Eight days after it said it was adding salt to many of its soups to enhance their taste and the company's sales, Campbell Soup Co. on Wednesday tweaked its message for consumers - this time, emphasizing choice. The Camden company said it will continue to sell lower-sodium soups, juices and sauces, including some new varieties. "It's vital we provide people with a choice," said Denise Morrison, Campbell chief operating officer, who will become chief executive on Aug. 1.       - Paul Schweizer

Q. I recently took the instructor course for the American Red Cross' "Better Eating for Better Health. " The teacher said that salt heats up the water. When cooking pasta, it says right on the package to add salt at the beginning of cooking time. I had always thought that adding salt was to prevent boiling over. What's the real purpose? - Colette Abell APO, N.Y. A. The purpose of adding salt to pasta water is to enhance the taste of the pasta, which is rather bland without it. Although salt will not prevent boiling over, it is a heat conductor and will shorten the length of time it takes to bring water to a boil.

The East Pikeland Board of Supervisors awarded a $21,694 contract to Robert McComsey Tuesday night for a salt shed to be built to the rear of the township building on Rapps Dam Road. The Department of Environmental Resources now requires that salt be sealed in sheds to prevent it from leaking into the ground and killing plant life, said board President Barbara Appleman. The township has been storing salt for the winter outside in a pile on a platform, she said. In other business, the supervisors: Said they would write to the Genuardi Supermarket in the new Maple Lawn Village Center on Route 113 about neighbors' complaints that noise from the store's trash compactor wakes them up in the middle of the night.

The squeaky taxpayers get the salt. That's one way the city Streets Department determines where to send salt trucks, after first making sure that major streets are cleared to accommodate heavy traffic and public transportation. "We've had thousands of complaints already and as long as we get complaints, we keep responding," said Kevin Koch, acting chief of highway engineering for the Streets Department. Koch said his office has received a number of calls from residents in northwest Philadelphia who complained that their streets had not been salted.

As everyone knows, too much salt, or not enough, is no good. Salt, the dance by Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers Company, premiered at the Painted Bride over the weekend. Salt, by the tubful and drifting down from the fly, was supposed to be part of the program, but there was too much concept and too little salt - only 100 pounds - not enough for what ought to have been a spectacle. Getting a dance from conception to rehearsal to premiere is no easy task in today's economy, and taking on a big subject on a small dance company's budget is fraught with pitfalls.

I wasn't sure what the salt shaker was for at first. It came in the mail with a pepper shaker, and it had an I N.Y. logo on it. It was sent by an outfit called The Center for Consumer Freedom. With an ecru-colored gift card. "Congratulations!", it said, "You're now on the cutting edge of New York City culinary culture. " Then the card got down to business: It said that if New York Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden put in place his 10-year plan to remove 50 percent of the salt "from all restaurant meals," two things would happen.

This winter may be warmer than usual, or it may have heavier snowfalls. It depends on which El Nino prediction you believe. New Jersey officials are going with the worst-case scenario in making preparations for keeping main roads clear. Officials have 150,000 tons of salt on hand for the state's 10,700 lane-miles of interstate and state highways - close to the maximum 158,000-ton storage capacity, said Dave Brown, New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman. Salt stocks "have increased significantly in recent years," prompted by the ice storm of March 1994, and the great Blizzard of 1996, Brown said.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell is preparing to sign a law that would outlaw designer drugs often referred to as bath salts. Markell is scheduled to sign the bill Wednesday afternoon in Dover. The bill was quickly approved this month by state lawmakers, who worked to enact a permanent ban on the drugs before a temporary ban imposed by state officials last year under an emergency rule expired. Authorities say chemicals used to make bath salts can produce effects similar to those of cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine, and can lead to dangerous, violent and suicidal behavior.

Bio: 36 and single; grew up in Buckingham, now lives in another Bucks County 'burb, Perkasie. Philly restaurant connections: Sonoma, Four Seasons, Lacroix. What's new? PorcSalt, the French-style charcuterie (646-255-9312, porcsalt.com ) he started 18 months ago, crafting cured meats, poultry and more for sale to restaurants and at farm and specialty markets. From restaurant to charcuterie: Working steadily since age 18, he was feeling that the more he cooked, the further he got from food.

Mindfulness classes pay off Chalk another one up for mindfulness classes. A study in Norway of 73 patients with painful joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis found that mindfulness exercises reduced stress and fatigue and that patients maintained the improvement a year later. Mindfulness exercises help patients focus on the present. In 10 group sessions, patients were taught to deliberately think about their feelings and bodily experiences without judging or trying to avoid them.

It was the summer of our discontent. Where to begin? An earthquake, a hurricane, and a visit from Mother Mary. A disaster trifecta. The perfect storm of catastrophes. The Manny, Moe, and Jack of nightmares. Just kidding. She was here for two months, and now that she's gone back to Miami, I miss her. When I feel sad, I turn on Everybody Loves Raymond , really really REALLY LOUD. And then I don't miss her anymore. She came up because a sewer main broke under her house, necessitating all manner of repair work, and I figured it would be best if she wasn't there to tell the workmen they were working too hard or they were really cute.

SANDY, Utah - If the Union were going to turn things around in time to break into the Major League Soccer playoffs, Saturday night would have been a good moment. But coming off nearly two weeks of rest and playing against a Real Salt Lake side missing eight players to injuries and international duty, the Union failed to capitalize on their opportunities, falling 2-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Union fell behind in the 18th minute when Real Salt Lake captain Kyle Beckerman bounced a short corner off teammate Paulo Araujo Jr., made a looping run around the penalty box, and, finding no challengers, took an open shot from deep outside the 18 past late-diving Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.

VENTNOR, N.J. - Once upon a time, I believed in the ocean breeze. I was a purist. I opened the jalousie windows of my house by the Shore, cranked the transoms open (the ones not stuck shut by years of paint), and pulled the strings on the ceiling fans. I awaited the return of the awning man. See? This house was made to move air naturally. Who needs air-conditioning? I grimaced when the breeze came from the mainland, learned to recognize its particular stuffy and psychic misery, and sighed in relief when the breeze would shift, knowing the very instant the cool ocean air refreshed my little island.

Eight days after it said it was adding salt to many of its soups to enhance their taste and the company's sales, Campbell Soup Co. on Wednesday tweaked its message for consumers - this time, emphasizing choice. The Camden company said it will continue to sell lower-sodium soups, juices and sauces, including some new varieties. "It's vital we provide people with a choice," said Denise Morrison, Campbell chief operating officer, who will become chief executive on Aug. 1.       - Paul Schweizer

"What we would hope is that governments come forward with clear plans to aid failing banks, or banks that are nearly failing, and so far we haven't heard much about that. " - Marie Diron, senior economic adviser for Ernst & Young, after European bank "stress tests" showed 8 of 91 failing and 16 barely passing. "We have to keep all options on the table. " - Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke, in congressional testimony Wednesday that was broadly interpreted to signal the central bank was prepared to provide additional stimulus if the economic lull persisted.

It's a shame that Campbell Soup Co. couldn't find a better recipe to serve up higher profits than to put more salt into its soups to ratchet up their taste. In a move to boost sales, the Camden-based company announced plans this week to return to saltier days. Campbell's hopes to whet the finicky appetite of consumers, who have found its healthier soup varieties that contain less sodium less appetizing. But most Americans already consume more than the maximum 2,300 milligrams ofsodium recommended daily for the average person.

It was the corporate version of a coming-out party Tuesday at the Camden headquarters of Campbell Soup Co., as incoming chief executive Denise Morrison unveiled plans to sprinkle new life onto the 142-year-old company with an age-old ingredient: salt. Chief among the chief-to-be's plans, as explained to nearly 100 investment analysts, is to sell more soup to U.S. customers by putting more salt back into the mix. "It's not just reducing sodium," she said in an interview after her presentation to analysts, who were treated to Pepperidge Farms snacks while assembled at Campbell's $93 million headquarters facility.