Move over, salt shakers, there's a new flavor enhancer in town—one that doubles as a futuristic torture device for food molecules. On the first night of CES 2025, Kirin Holdings, the Japanese company best known for bringing beer-induced smiles to millions, decided to revolutionize the way we pretend our food is salty. Enter: the Electronic salt Spoon, a gadget that apparently makes your food taste saltier by zapping it with weak electric currents. Because who wouldn’t want their meal to come with a side of science experiment?
This high-tech utensil works by concentrating sodium ion molecules in your food, allegedly delivering a stronger umami punch and upping the saltiness ante—all while keeping your sodium intake at a saintly low. And the price for this technological marvel? A mere $127. Pocket change, really, for anyone who has ever dreamed of shocking their soup to perfection.
While it’s been available in japan since 2024, Kirin is now aiming to take this culinary innovation global. The company claims their spoon can "noticeably" increase the saltiness of your food, though you’ll have to trust them on that because, as TechCrunch put it, using a communal spoon at CES is about as appetizing as licking a doorknob.
And if you're worried this might all sound too good to be true, rest assured: the technology behind this spoon is backed by rigorous science. After all, it won the prestigious 2023 Ig Nobel Prize, an award reserved for research so groundbreaking (and hilariously odd) it’s practically crying out for a Netflix documentary. The researchers behind this culinary wizardry first published their work in 2011, and now they've expanded their empire to include not just spoons, but forks and chopsticks too. Truly, the electric cutlery trifecta we never knew we needed.
Kirin insists they created this device to tackle the pressing global health crisis of high sodium consumption, especially in japan, where adults apparently consume more than double the World health Organization’s recommended intake. Sure, the solution to this public health problem could be something as simple as, you know, eating less processed food or seasoning with herbs. But where’s the fun in that when you can electrocute your way to flavor town instead?
So, will Kirin’s shocking spoon become the must-have gadget of 2025? Or will it fade into the annals of CES history alongside such marvels as smart toilets and robot pets? Only time—and perhaps your electrified ramen—will tell.
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