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SciShow is supported by Skillshare.
本期科学秀由Skillshare赞助播出。
In the food world, salt is kind of a superhero. Without it, french fries are bland, potato chips are boring, and chocolate chip cookies lose their pop.
在食物世界中，盐是超级英雄般的存在。没有盐，薯条变得乏味，薯片变得平淡，巧克力片曲奇饼也会失宠。
And that's because salt doesn't just make things salty—it has lots of effects on flavor perception.
这是因为盐并不仅仅只是让食物变得更咸，盐影响了我们的味觉感知。
In fact, if you're thinking about using a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, a pinch of salt might actually work better.
事实上，如果你认为一勺糖能帮助降低药的苦涩，那么一撮盐或许效果更好。
At the most basic level, humans like salt because we need it to survive.
人们基本都喜欢盐，因为我们需要盐来生存。
Salt as we know it—which is usually sodium in the form of sodium chloride—is an essential nutrient.
大家都知道，盐是以氯化钠形式存在的钠，是一种必需营养物。
You use sodium ions for everything from communication between your neurons to managing your blood pressure.
从人体神经元之间的交流到血压管控，都需要用到钠离子。
But your body can't just make sodium from scratch. It's an element and you are not a star…
但是我们的身体无法从零开始制造钠。钠是一种元素而你又不是星星...
So, you have to get at least some from your diet.
因此，我们至少需要从饮食中获取一些钠。
And since there isn't usually much salt lying around unless you live near the ocean,
而我们周围并没有很多钠的存在，除非你住在海边，
it makes sense that we evolved a taste for it to make sure we get enough.
所以我们进化出了确保身体获得足够钠的口味。
In 2010, researchers confirmed that we mostly taste saltiness thanks to epithelial sodium channels,
2010年，研究人员确认，我们基本能够尝出咸味，这多亏了上皮钠通道，
which are basically pores that let sodium ions into the taste receptor cells in your taste buds.
上皮钠通道主要是气孔，能够让钠离子进入我们味蕾中的味觉感受细胞。
Those cells then signal your brain that something's salty.
那些细胞向大脑发送信号—有咸咸的东西。
But, weird as it might sound, salt actually makes things sweeter because it reduces your perception of bitter flavors.
但是这听起来或许有些奇怪—盐让食物变得更甜，因为盐降低了你对苦涩味道的感知。
Studies have found that salt is actually better at reducing bitterness than sugar.
研究发现盐比糖更擅长降低苦涩味道。
Scientists don't have the mechanism for it completely figured out, but research suggests it involves both your tongue and your brain.
科学家还没有完全弄清其中原理，但研究表明这和你的舌头以及大脑都有关。
Most of the bitterness-blocking happens in your taste buds,
大部分苦味都发生在你的味蕾上，
where it's thought the sodium might interfere with the binding between bitter compounds and their taste cell receptors.
人们认为钠可能妨碍了苦感混合物和味觉细胞感受器之间的结合。
Salt also reduces other unpleasant tastes, so flavor chemists think it influences other taste cells too. Somehow.
盐也能降低其他不好的味道，所以香料化学家认为盐也影响了其他味觉细胞。
But researchers have also found that if you're given salt and a bitter compound in such a way that they don't mingle on your tongue,
但研究人员也发现如果以一种不在舌部相混合的方式食用盐和苦味混合物，
you still perceive the overall flavor as slightly less bitter.
你还是会尝到整体带有稍许苦味的味道。
That suggests some of the anti-bitterness effect comes from how your brain interprets multiple taste signals when they include saltiness.
这表明一些反苦涩效果来源于你的大脑如何解读包含咸味的多种味道信号。
Salt may also enhance sweetness more directly.
盐或许也能直接增加甜味。
We know that in mice, at least, one of the proteins that pulls sugar into taste receptor cells can't do its job without sodium.
在老鼠体内，至少有一种将糖注入味觉感受器的蛋白质无法在没有钠的情况下工作。
So a dash of salt could mean an extra burst of sweet. Salt can also make things taste better by making them smell better.
所以一点盐意味着额外的甜。盐也能够让食物闻起来美味，从而让食物尝起来更加美味。
When you add salt, its ions are attracted to some of the available water in the food.
加盐时，盐中的离子被食物中的水分所吸引。
And that makes it easier for volatile compounds— molecules that evaporate quickly and often contribute to something's aroma to escape into the air.
这让挥发性化合物变得更加容易—一种蒸发迅速且帮助扩散食物香味的分子。
Those compounds may not hit your tongue, but they still contribute a lot to your perception of flavor.
那些化合物或许刺激了你的舌头，但它们仍有助于你对味道的感知。
Salt also seems to do other things to make food more enjoyable … although scientists can't really explain them yet.
盐似乎也做了另一件事使食物变得更加美味...虽然科学家们还无法解释。
For instance, volunteers in a 1985 study said salted split pea soup was not only saltier, sweeter and less bitter than the unsalted version,
例如，一项1985年研究中的自愿者表示咸咸的豌豆汤并不只是比不咸的版本更咸、更甜、苦味更小，
it was also thicker and fuller, altering what food scientists call mouthfeel.
还更加粘稠、浓郁，改变了食物科学家们所谓的口感。
That one single ingredient transformed the whole dish!
一种调味料就改变了整道菜！
Though, honestly, I would not want pea soup without any salt in it. That sounds bad.
虽然，我不想吃不加盐的豆子汤。听起来就不好吃。
So, if you're not happy with your dinner, there's a good chance that reaching for the salt shaker will help, which is why it's right there on the table.
所以你觉得晚餐不合胃口，桌上的盐瓶或许能帮到你，这就是把盐瓶放在桌上的原因。
But if you're in the mood for more than just plain old regular salt, you can also infuse salt with flavor to make your meals even more exciting.
如果你喜欢的不仅仅是平淡的盐，你也可以使用香料浸泡盐，让你的美味更加刺激。
In this Skillshare class, Infused Salts: How to Add Flavor to Any Dish, Kevin Kawa goes over the three main techniques for infusing salts
在Skillshare《Infused Salts: How to Add Flavor to Any Dish》课堂上，Kevin Kawa将带大家复习三种浸泡盐的技巧
-- who knew there were three different ways to infuse salts?!-- and also teaches you how to make a different infused salt for each technique.
居然有三种不同浸泡方法？！—老师还会教大家如何制作。
Other students have also added their own infused salt recipes after taking this class, so you get access to that shared knowledge and community as well!
其他同学还在课后上传了自己浸泡盐的配方，所以你也可以在那里分享知识！
You can check out those as well as thousands of classes in cooking, art, technology and more for just $10 month.
你还能观看各种烹饪、艺术、技术等课程，每月仅需10美元。
For the first 1,000 SciShow viewers to sign up at the link the description, you will get your first 2 months for 99 cents, and you'll be supporting SciShow.
前一千名科学秀的注册用户还将获得前两月99美分的优惠价格。
Let us know how it goes!
让我们也知道情况怎么样！
