Before discussing salt, some understanding about TASTE BUDS must be presented. For many, many decades, it was thought that there were only four primary taste sensations, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Further, it was believed that these four taste elements were distributed in fixed positions around the tongue. However, in 1908, a Japanese scientist discovered that there was a FIFTH taste, he called "UMAMI", a Japanese word that has no exact translation to English but is interpreted to mean "savory", "meaty' or "delicious". UMAMI taste is found in foods containing high levels of certain chemical substances, mainly glutamate. Thus, currently, we know that there are five not four primary tastes. Furthermore, contrast to what was once believed concerning the various primary taste buds being "mapped" in specific positions in the tongue, it has been found that taste buds are distributed throughout the oral cavity (tongue and upper palate), although some areas may be more sensitive than others. With this as background, we can learn about the effect of salt (or, at least the sodium ions contained in it) on taste and flavor well beyond just imparting a salty taste to food.
As you know, our enjoyment of what we eat is enhanced by the number of senses - sight, smell, touch (texture) and taste that each food/dish stimulates. In the case of salt, its use can stimulate several of our senses. A piece of chocolate or a caramel, for example, with a scattering of sea salt on top enhances visual appeal (sight) by presenting a contrast in color - white granules on a dark background - on what you are eating. In addition, it increases the anticipation of a textural difference - a crunch of the salt against the soft, melting feel of the chocolate in your mouth or the chewy nature of the caramel. Further, salt added to food makes certain molecules in the food more volatile, so the aroma of food is enhanced. This adds the sense of smell to the perception of taste when salt is added. Regarding the sense of taste, in addition to imparting a salty taste to food, salt also depresses the sensitivity of the bitter taste buds, therefore decreasing the bitter taste perception. Thus, if your coffee tastes bitter, adding a pinch of salt rather than adding more sugar will make the coffee taste less bitter without adding to the sweetness. Moreover, recent studies have shown that a "sensor" in the taste buds which allow glucose (sugar) to move into the sweet taste cells in the mouth is activated when salt (it's sodium component) is present. This allows these cells to register more sweetness. This is why a sprinkle of salt on watermelon or its addition to candy makes them taste sweeter and why the addition of salt is part of every recipe used for making cakes. Finally, as was stated above, the UMAMI taste is mediated by the amount of glutamate found in food. We now know that the UMAMI taste sensation that is mediated by glutamate becomes more intense in the presence of the sodium ion contained in salt. One of the many foods that are rich in Umami taste are tomatoes. You all know that a sprinkling of salt on tomatoes intensifies the taste. Now you know why.
I hope this “salty" information make you look at using salt in a
different light.
