First, it was a fork that faked salt. Then came a pair of chopsticks. A bowl got involved. And finally—because why stop at tableware behaving normally—Japan now has a spoon that simulates saltiness without adding actual salt. Enter the Electric Salt Spoon, a high-tech utensil developed by Kirin Holdings and Meiji University, and yes, it’s very real.
This nifty gadget, which dropped on May 20, 2024 (how did we miss this?), is basically culinary wizardry for anyone who has to watch their sodium intake but still dreams of ramen that tastes like… ramen. Using a mild electric current from the spoon’s tip, it tickles your taste buds just enough to make low-sodium food taste up to 1.5x saltier. Sorcery? No, science. Well, science sorcery.
It runs on a single lithium battery, weighs just 60 grams, and features four salt-zapping intensity levels. The design’s been refined over the years to feel like a regular spoon, not a lab instrument, and it’s perfect for things like curry, soupy noodles, or fried rice. Just maybe don’t use it to stir your coffee. Unless you’re into that.
And the asking price for such a salt simulator? Well, it’s a not-so-low-sodium 19,800 yen [JP] (about US$138). But hey, cheaper than high blood pressure medication and way more fun. OK. To be fair, I don’t know about the last part because we never got to try it. Here’s a video showing how this electrifying spoon works:
Images: Kirin Holdings.
