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‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

theguardian.com

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Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#61

Post by cassianoleal »

OJFord wrote: post #10
xattt wrote: post #3

Can we be pedantic about the simplistic title? Japan did not invent the chopsticks, but some researchers at a university that were sponsored by a beverage manufacturer did. If these researchers were anywhere else, what would the title read?

If it were a British university, it (the British paper) would name the university. ('University of Cambridge invents 'electric' knife and fork that...'.) I think it's fair enough, it's just reducing the name of the (likely unfamiliar) university to its host nation.

How can an University ever stop being unfamiliar if its name is omitted in favour of the country its in?

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#62

Post by twoxproblematic »

Markoff wrote: post #6
ricardobeat wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably "French researchers invent electric chopsticks". The fact we can identify "Japan" as an entity says a lot about the cultural weight it holds. Not a bad thing.

What if some of these "French researchers" are let's say Chinese citizens residing in France since finding homogenous research team is very unlikely? I'm quite annoyed with these constructions as foreigner living outside my home country when politicians/media always say Czech citizens this, Czech citizens that as if there were no residents with other citizenship affected by new laws/decisions.

No post body was provided.

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#64

Post by TremendousJudge »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #63

> Miyashita’s lab is exploring other ways in which technology can be used to engage the senses – it has also invented a lickable TV screen that imitates the flavours of various foods Yeah thanks I'll pass.

Sounds very Wonka-esque

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#65

Post by tokai »

cassianoleal wrote: post #61
OJFord wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were a British university, it (the British paper) would name the university. ('University of Cambridge invents 'electric' knife and fork that...'.) I think it's fair enough, it's just reducing the name of the (likely unfamiliar) university to its host nation.

How can an University ever stop being unfamiliar if its name is omitted in favour of the country its in?

Is it reasonable for an university to become familiar for the general public across the world?

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#66

Post by OJFord »

cassianoleal wrote: post #61
OJFord wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were a British university, it (the British paper) would name the university. ('University of Cambridge invents 'electric' knife and fork that...'.) I think it's fair enough, it's just reducing the name of the (likely unfamiliar) university to its host nation.

How can an University ever stop being unfamiliar if its name is omitted in favour of the country its in?

It's the job of foreign media organisations to manage a university's PR/marketing?

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#67

Post by mc32 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #63

> Miyashita’s lab is exploring other ways in which technology can be used to engage the senses – it has also invented a lickable TV screen that imitates the flavours of various foods Yeah thanks I'll pass.

Let's find better ways to spread germs, nature is being inefficient, we can improve it!

I guess on the other hand this could enhance the flavors of food delivered to patients who cannot chew... so you deliver nutrients through a popsicle-like device that also just delivers otherwise bland food.

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#68

Post by djrogers »

OJFord wrote: post #44
jollybean wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And everyone else thinks America is what they see on TV. It's not important, unless there are wars about it.

As a Briton, I see an awful lot more of America on TV than Japan. As a result then it's surely inherently more (likely to be) balanced/matching up with reality? Compared to Japan; the only show I can think of that I've seen that's even sort of set there was The Man in the High Castle !

> As a result then it's surely inherently more (likely to be) balanced/matching up with reality?

I see almost nothing on TV that matches up with the actual daily life in America, so no - seeing more US TV doesn't help in that respect.

Re: ‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

#69

Post by djrogers »

itcrowd wrote: post #30
JimBlackwood wrote: post #5

A bit sad that they confuse umami with salt in the opener but this does sound like a great invention. An acquaintance suffers from kidney disease and due to the zero salt intake has lost much appetite for food. A lot is still possible when cooking with tomato or mushroom rich foods but it’s hard. Something like this would be welcomed!

They don't conflate the two. They say you can taste the umami without the downside of ingesting too much salt in the process (due to the high salinity of typical dishes with umami flavor)

You're confusing salt with sodium - this enhances sodium ions, so it affects salt as well as MSG, which is tied to umami.

Umami != salty.

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