On the primary night time of CES 2025, Kirin Holdings, a Japanese firm identified for its beer and drinks, confirmed off its new digital spoon that makes your meals style saltier. The corporate says its spoon makes use of a weak electrical present to pay attention sodium ion molecules in your meals, including a stronger umami and salt taste to low-sodium meals.
A restricted provide of the Digital Salt Spoon went on sale in Japan in 2024 for roughly $127 in American {dollars}, however Kirin hopes to promote the machine across the globe within the coming years. The corporate claims this machine can noticeably improve the “saltiness” of your meals, with out including any extra sodium.
A crowd of individuals tried some soup utilizing Kirin’s spoon at CES Unveiled in Las Vegas. TechCrunch didn’t strive it ourselves, as a result of there’s one thing a couple of communal tech convention spoon that simply isn’t that appetizing.
Whereas the spoon appears too good to be true, there’s some convincing analysis behind it that means it might be legit. The product launch of Kirin’s spoon marked the primary commercialization of expertise that received the 2023 Ig Nobel prize, a satirical award for uncommon scientific analysis. The researchers behind it first printed their thesis in 2011, however have since made spoons, forks, and chopsticks that move electrical currents into meals.
Kirin says it created the spoon to assist individuals eat much less salt. This downside is particularly related in Japan, the place the nation’s grownup inhabitants eats greater than double the World Well being Group’s really useful consumption.