Why does salty water taste so bad when salt food tastes so good?

Comments

• Imacat@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  There are 2 different physical sensations for tasting salt. One for low salt and one for high. This is believed to help regulate salt intake.

  knowablemagazine.org/…/salt-taste-surprisingly-my…

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  • someguy3@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    If I put the smallest amount in a glass of water it tastes bad. But I can salt the hell out of one spoonful of eggs and it tastes good.

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    • neptune@dmv.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Slightly salty water shouldn’t taste bad. Soda and Gatorade are both relatively salty. If you are dehydrated, you might even prefer water with a dash of salt. In fact, Dasani et Al, carefully control the salt balance to make the flavor right.

      But yeah. Water is tasteless so a pinch of salt goes a long way when there is no fat or protein (or sugar) to cut it.

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    • ArcticDagger@feddit.dk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      I know that in Lithuania, they drink lightly salted water: www.kaina24.lt/s/vytautas-mineralinis-vanduo/

      So while I don’t doubt your taste buds, I think it’s a cultural thing whether a bit of salt in water tastes bad 😄

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    • DeusHircus@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Dasani and Smart Water have high salt to mineral content, they’re my favorite brand of bottled water. Pure water tastes bad and is actuality dangerous to drink regularly

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    • HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Too much salt. Try less. I regularly have to drink slightly salty water to maintain hydration.

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• TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Mostly, salt adjusts flavor profiles, and water is supposed to taste like nothing so adjusting that makes brain upset.

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  • DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Salt: " I have adjusted the flavor. Pray I don’t adjust it further"

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• RBWells@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Soup is mostly salty water and tastes great. If you are trying to drink water with electrolytes and the taste bothers you, a squeeze of lemon will fix it, or one of my kids uses a splash of cranberry juice instead.

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• Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Salt water is usually very salty. Plus salt is a flavor enhancer and people don’t want their plain water to have flavor.

  In the right environment, though, salty water is fine. Gatorade’s 3rd or 4th ingredient is table salt.

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  • someguy3@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    I’m talking about adding a small amount of salt to tap water. Not ocean salt water.

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• Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Evolutionary, I’d expect it’s because drinking saltwater is generally counter productive.

  If you are on a raft without water, you will die faster id you drink the salty sea water than if you don’t.

  Drinking lots of slightly salty water, will put stress on your kidneys, as fresh water is the remedy to compensate if you got too much salt.

  That’s the evolutionary perspective, but how the mechanics work for the body to detect it IDK. You can have watery sauce or soup that taste great, despite being mostly water. So I think there is a bit of what’s expected involved. We generally don’t expect water to be salt.

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• theKalash@feddit.ch ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I actually like the taste of salt water.

  Good thing I stay way from sea travel.

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  • PlexSheep@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    I like the first few sips. Afterwards it becomes meh.

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    • theKalash@feddit.ch ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Yeah, I think you’d soon hit a limit. It’s not like chocolate.

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• PixelPioneer@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  The perception of saltiness in food and water can vary due to how it interacts with other flavors. Salty foods often have a balance of salt that enhances the overall taste experience. Conversely, salty water can taste unpleasant because the salt can overpower your water’s flavor by itself, making it less enjoyable. Unless you mean sea water though, that has a lot more stuff in it.

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• glimse@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I’m completely sober but I let out a stoner “whoa, man…” when I read this. It’s true…but why…

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• synapse1278@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Not exactly water, but Ayran is delicious !

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  • angrystego@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Glad to see Ayran love. It’s amazing how much better salty water tastes when you add some yogurth!

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