No. The concentration of enzymes in saliva is very low and it’s mostly amylase; amylase helps with digestion of starches, which is helped by the neutral pH in your mouth. Other things like fats, complex carbohydrates and proteins will not get broken down in your mouth simply due to the action of your saliva.
They only break down starches, but they do that fairly well.
If you spit into a starch-thickened sauce (or less grossly, use the same tasting spoon twice) the sauce will slowly break down and become runny.
There were old traditions, in South America, Japan, and old Norse at least, of chewing and spitting grains to break down the starch so it could be fermented. Malting (sprouting grains so they make starch-dissolving enzymes) has, perhaps happily, replaced that tradition.
Latest Answers