Tech

Powered chopsticks use electricity to make food taste 50% saltier

Japanese Sanuki Udon ,fat straight noodle,lifted up with red chopsticks from soup bowl. Steam looks sharp against black background.Eye level angle.

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

According to the FDA, the average American eats 3,400 mg of sodium a day, despite the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommending less than 2,300 mg per day and WHO recommending under 5,000 mg per day. Moving down to roughly a teaspoon of table salt a day can make your tastebuds weep from boredom, but what if you could get less salty satisfaction from your salt shaker and more from your utensil?

Japanese food, beverage, and pharmaceuticals company Kirin recently announced that it and a team of researchers have developed a “chopstick device” that uses electrical stimulation to make food taste up to 50 percent saltier than it would otherwise.

The qualifier “device” is likely here because these aren’t your typical chopsticks. They feature a cable that connects to a power supply, making them bulkier than typical chopsticks and not the kind of utensil you’d expect to be thrown in with a delivery order for free.

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