Japanese ‘smart’ chopsticks enhance food flavours to make them more savoury

 

日本「智能」筷子增強食物味道 使它們更美味

【摘要2022.5.2.一.自由】◎陳成良

Japanese researchers have developed computerised chopsticks that enhance salty tastes, potentially helping those who need to reduce sodium in their diets.

日本研究人員開發出一款可提升鹹味的電腦化筷子，有機會幫助那些飲食需要減少鈉攝取量的民眾。

Co-developed by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita and beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co., the chopsticks enhance tastes using electrical stimulation and a mini-computer worn on a wristband.

這款筷子由明治大學教授宮下芳明及飲料製造商麒麟控股公司共同開發，可利用電流刺激和佩戴在腕帶上的迷你電腦來提升口味。

The device uses a weak electrical current to transmit sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, said Miyashita. "As a result, the salty taste enhances 1.5 times," he said.

宮下說，該設備使用微弱電流，將食物中的鈉離子通過筷子傳輸到嘴巴，在那裡它們會產生鹹味。他說，「結果，鹹味提升了1.5倍。」

The taste-enhancing chopsticks may have particular relevance in Japan, where the traditional diet favours salty tastes. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt per day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.

增味筷子在日本可能特別重要，因為日本的傳統飲食偏愛鹹味。日本成年人平均每天攝取約10克鹽，是世界衛生組織（WHO）建議量的2倍。

新聞辭典

savoury：形容詞，可口的；味香的；鹹味的。例句：This restaurant is famous for its savoury dishes.（這家餐廳以飯菜美味而聞名。）

relevance：名詞，重要性；相關性；適當；中肯。例句：His answer bore little.（他的回答無關痛癢。）