How does salt makes things taste better? - Earth.com

How does salt makes things taste better?

03-10-2023

Today’s Video of the Day from the American Chemical Society explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?

One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain. 

While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified. 

Video Credit: ACS Reactions

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor

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