Persistent, Niggling Questions

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

4. Along these same lines, is there really no artificial sodium-free "salt flavor" yet?

I would guess not, though there's a product in the UK called LoSalt which contains only a third sodium chloride (the other two thirds being potassium chloride), which is supposed to be a healthier alternative.

5. I'm still confused about this whole umami/savory/"sixth flavor" business. Anyone care to take a stab at it?

What's to be confused about? It's just a thing we have taste receptors for, though I seem to vaguely remember we have less of those taste buds than the ones for other flavours.

6. Simularly, while I know there's a connection between smell and taste, how? Do the sensory tracks somehow overlap to create a new sensation once in awhile? Is smell just a different "data layer" (to use a bizarre optical disc metaphor) than taste?

I suspect there will be an evolutionary reason for them being tied together like that; what's a more interesting question to me is is this a human thing, or does it effect other animals too?

7. Knowing that it's possible to overknead bread dough, has someone come up with a unit for this, to calculate how many times you have to fold and smash the stuff?

I expect so, even if it's completely unscientific or just plain made up (go look up the 'smoot' on Wikipedia).