Electric Chopsticks Replace The Salt In Your Meals So They’ll Never Taste Bland

Image via Meiji University

With electrical currents on chopsticks, scientists in Japan have been able to replicate the taste of salt in meals, enabling people to still savor the savory while watching their sodium intake.

But don’t worry, your tongue will be fine.

Researchers from Meiji University’s Yoshinori Miyashita Laboratory of the Department of Advanced Media Science teamed up with Japanese beer maker Kirin to invent chopsticks that make low-sodium food taste better without taking away the joy of eating. The cutlery addresses an initiative by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to lower the daily salt intake of locals, who have been worryingly consuming more than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization.

The scientists identified the unique electrical waveform that activates ions in salty and umami components like sodium chloride—and even monosodium glutamate—and passed it through the tip of the special metal chopsticks into tasters’ mouths. In their perception, this improved the flavor of food without the need for excess salt.

Image via Meiji University

The government was looking for a solution to reduce salt intake by at least 20%, and the chopsticks more than delivered. In a test, subjects were asked to taste a salted gel, followed by another with lower salt—but this time, it was served with the electrical chopsticks. Even though the other gel had 30% less salt than the control, participants rated it as 1.5 times saltier than the original.

As for those living in other parts of the world, one way to watch your sodium is by using the secret “control hole” of soy sauce bottles when you’re pouring from them, which keeps those spills at bay.

[via Gizmodo and SoraNews24, images via Meiji University]