The “Taste Buddy” Makes Food Taste Better
Researchers from City University London have developed a new electronic device to help enhance the taste of food. The “Taste Buddy” consists of a less than 1 inch tab which is attached to a processing device. By placing this tab on your tongue, it is able to stimulate taste buds and alter the sense of taste through “thermal and electric signals,” according to IFLScience.com.
“What started out as a fun engineering experiment has now led to something much more exciting with the potential to have a positive social impact,” Professor Adrian Cheok said in a statement.
According to the Daily Mail, Taste Buddy has been designed to trick “the tongue into tasting unappetizing ‘healthy’ food as delicious treats.”
This primary prototype is currently restricted to imitating sweet or salty, “future versions have the potential to completely alter our diets”(Daily Mail). A weak electric current is used to target other taste buds responsible for salty flavors. This means future versions have the potential to completely alter our diets. Suddenly that oh so bitter brocolli might be more appealing to kids and grown ups alike. “The Taste Buddy could eventually help save lives,” Cheok said, “by allowing people to swtich to healthier food choices.”
