So, you know you should cut back on salt, but you don't like the bland taste of low-sodium foods. The Electric Salt Spoon may be just what you need, as it's claimed to boost the salty flavor of foods without actually adding any salt.
The origins of the Electric Salt Spoon (which sounds like the name of a 60s psychedelic rock band), date back to 2022.
At that time, Japanese food and beverage company Kirin Holdings unveiled a set of prototype "electric chopsticks" that reportedly enhanced the salty and umami flavors of foods eaten with them. The unusual utensils were developed in collaboration with scientists in the Miyashita Laboratory at Japan's Meiji University.
Although the chopsticks never went into production, Kirin proceeded to integrate the technology into the present-day commercially-available Electric Salt Spoon. So, how does it work?
Well, the battery-powered spoon incorporates two electrodes, one on its handle and one in its bowl section (the food-scooping part). The user's fingers cover the handle electrode, while the food covers the bowl electrode.
When the person puts the spoon in their mouth, they complete an electrical circuit in which a weak current runs from the spoon, through the food and around their tongue. According to Kirin, this current draws sodium ions from the food to the tongue's taste buds. Ordinarily, a large percentage of those ions would stay dispersed throughout the mouth, never contacting the tongue.
While that may all sound a little "Yeah, right," Kirin states that in a 2022 study of its chopsticks that involved 31 test subjects, the technology was found to enhance the perceived saltiness of low-sodium foods by a factor of approximately 1.5. That said, the company does add that results will vary with the user, and with the type of food.
A limited run of 200 Electric Salt Spoons was initially made available to consumers last May. The next run is scheduled for this February – prospective buyers can register for updates via the company website. Pricing is set at 19,800 yen (about US$125). It's also worth checking out the similar SpoonTEK spoon.
Keep in mind, though, neither device should be used by people who have implanted electrical medical devices such as pacemakers, or who are subject to seizures.
Source: Kirin Holdings
