How does just a bit of pinch of salt make so much of a difference to the taste of savoury dishes
In: Chemistry
Evolutionary – iodine/sodium are mandatory parts of the diet. We make salt-licks for animals for this purpose.
There are a lot of different flavors out there, but flavors found in nature that cause such a positive reaction, like salty foods, are due to them being very important to survival. Fatty things give the same overwhelmingly strong response (just lather butter on everything) for the same reasons. They used to be hard to get and you would die if you didn’t.
Of course now sodium is in everything, so you still need it, and crave it, but there is way too much. And too much fat.
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