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This is quite subjective. Sugar and salt make things "taste better" if you already have a certain expectation that that's how food "should" taste. That's not

by rleigh 9y ago

This is quite subjective. Sugar and salt make things "taste better" if you already have a certain expectation that that's how food "should" taste. That's not the case if you don't have that expectation. I gave up buying products using refined sugar entirely for an extended period, and baked all my own bread, oatcakes, biscuits etc. Food which I previously found unpalatable without adding sugar or syrup, I could now eat and find perfectly tasty. When I cook porridge in the morning, water and a touch of salt are all it needs. I think it recalibrated my taste significantly--if I now try to eat even a biscuit from a supermarket, all I can taste is the excessive amount of salt in it. Likewise anything with refined sugar--it's too much, and it tastes disgusting. I think with industrially-produced food, we've become so used to the excessive amount of salt and sugar, that it has become normal to expect it even when it's unnecessary and things taste bland when they aren't included--even though it's perfectly fine. You're likely right it sells better. But it's like the music "loudness war" but with ingredients; the end result isn't that enjoyable or good for you even though it seems superficially better.

WillPostForFood 9y ago
You substituted salt for sugar in your morning cereal. Try it with neither, and no milk, which is actually quite sweet. If one drops refined sugar and adds fruit (e.g., raisins), it is still sugar (as far as flavor goes). There are very few foods that have no salt or sweetness (refined or natural sugar) that still taste good.
- washadjeffmad 9y ago
  By conventional American palettes. There's great research done on flavor perception by culture, and the US specifically associates sweetness with intensity of flavor, whereas cultures that don't favor sugar so highly more often associate saltiness with heightened flavor. One example of this is the use of salt or spices on fruit. The generic US palette considers the sweetness of fruit to be its purpose, but many cultures will spice, salt, or cook the same fruits the way vegetables are prepared in the US.

by rleigh 9y ago

WillPostForFood 9y ago

You substituted salt for sugar in your morning cereal. Try it with neither, and no milk, which is actually quite sweet. If one drops refined sugar and adds fruit (e.g., raisins), it is still sugar (as far as flavor goes). There are very few foods that have no salt or sweetness (refined or natural sugar) that still taste good.

washadjeffmad 9y ago
By conventional American palettes. There's great research done on flavor perception by culture, and the US specifically associates sweetness with intensity of flavor, whereas cultures that don't favor sugar so highly more often associate saltiness with heightened flavor. One example of this is the use of salt or spices on fruit. The generic US palette considers the sweetness of fruit to be its purpose, but many cultures will spice, salt, or cook the same fruits the way vegetables are prepared in the US.