Salty snacks are fun, sweet treats are great, but put them together and you’ve got a delectable combination that’s seriously hard to resist. From kettle corn to salted caramel ice cream, the appeal of many popular desserts lies in their balance of sweet and salty flavors, but have you ever wondered why this pairing tastes so darn good? The answer, it turns out, lies in a concept called taste science.
Before the days of fast food and pre-packaged cookies, high-calorie foods were a lot more difficult to come by. Because the human brain requires glucose, a type of sugar, for energy, it rewards us with certain feel-good chemicals whenever sugar is detected by taste buds on the tongue. Salt contains minerals like sodium that we also need to survive, and consuming it activates the brain reward system as well. Even though food scarcity is no longer an issue, we are still wired to crave each of them individually.
What’s more, salt is what’s known as a flavor enhancer. By decreasing water activity and increasing the volatility of other compounds in food, it amplifies the flavors of both savory and sweet dishes when added in small amounts. In short, salt makes sweet things taste sweeter.
So, the next time you’re tempted to dip your fries in a chocolate milkshake, go right ahead—it’s not weird, it’s science.
