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Why Do Sweet and Salty Taste so Good Together?

For some, it’s a moment of brilliant self-realization. For others, a sacred piece of passed down knowledge.

We’re talking about the first time you discover the dynamic duo of sweetness and saltiness. Maybe you get your fix from chocolate covered pretzels, or perhaps you fall prey to the nut and chocolate combo: cashew bark, almond butter crunch, rocky road – the list goes on. Whatever the case may be, once you discover the yin and yang of sweet and salty – that delicate balancing act in which opposite flavors come together to form a synergistic whole – nothing is the same anymore.

What you might not have realized, though, is that there is a science to why sweet and salty taste so good together. Each of your taste buds have between 50 and 100 taste cells, which respond to different flavors. Said flavors, like sweetness, are perceived when sugar and a sweet receptor protein come into contact with one another, causing the sweet cell to send a signal to the brain, which then understands the taste of the food to be sweet.

Just a couple years ago, researchers uncovered a new sugar receptor, previously thought to exist only in the gut. The study on the matter, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identified the receptor as SGLT1, which transports sugars into cells only in the presence of sodium. We suspect this might have a little something to do with why sweetness is complimented so well by saltiness, and all we can say is, “Thank you, SGLT1.”

At Wockenfuss Candies, we wholeheartedly support the marriage of sweet and salty: that’s why so many of our specialties combine chocolate with something a tad bit salty. Let us remind you why you love this pair: order some of our delights online today, or pick up a sample at one of our candy shops in Maryland. Then sit back and give thanks for the moment you first discovered the wonder of sweet and salty foods.

When you’re not savoring our sweets, stay satisfied by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest!

Sources:

Scientists Find Why Sweet and Salty Pair So Sweetly

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 at 6:23 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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