Dan ([info]oedipamaas49) wrote,
@ 2008-12-30 10:53:00
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Trivia
If we are wired to like salt, and salt gets added to most processed food to improve the taste - why does salt-water taste so unpleasant?

Or is it just sea-water that tastes foul? Would water with slightly less salt, or with less other gunk, taste nicer? Should I experiment?

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[info]gerald_duck
2008-12-30 10:57 am UTC (link)
I think it's just that sea water is much too salty. I assume at some point in your life you've tried eating a dab of salt by itself, or swilling brine around your mouth after a tooth extraction and found the taste of that pretty grim, too.

On the other hand, eyewash, or indeed human tears, taste quite nice.

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[info]karohemd
2008-12-30 11:00 am UTC (link)
Sea water around these parts tastes vile. The sea water in Antarctica tastes like a glass of cold tap water with a teaspoon of salt in it. There's too much salt to make it drinkable (like a mineral water with a high salt/mineral content) but it's a lot more pleasant than sea water from other climes when you accidentally swallow some.

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[info]bloodofareptile
2008-12-30 11:13 am UTC (link)
I like to eat salt on its own, but can't stand drinking salt water. I think this is because you have to have it vaguely warm to dissolve the salt (or it always has been when I've been given it) and I have a thing about warm and hot drinks.

I do have a friend that drinks nothing but salt water (which I can't help but think probably isn't all that good for you!).

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[info]i_am_toast
2008-12-30 11:21 am UTC (link)
Chilling salt water does make it much more palatable.

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[info]feanelwa
2008-12-30 02:14 pm UTC (link)
I think the sea has a much higher concentration of salt than salty food.

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[info]robert_jones
2008-12-30 02:37 pm UTC (link)
Very salty soup isn't pleasant either, so I don't think it's just the impurities in sea-water.

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