Scientists have created an electronic tongue that can copy flavors like cake and fish soup. This technology could help recreate food in virtual reality, making digital food experiences more immersive. However, it cannot yet simulate other factors that influence taste, such as smell and texture, according to New Scientist.

Researchers at Ohio State University, led by Yizhen Jia, have developed a system called e-Taste, designed to study food samples and partially recreate their flavors in a person’s mouth. The system works by using five key chemicals that match the basic tastes: sodium chloride for salty, citric acid for sour, glucose for sweet, magnesium chloride for bitter, and glutamate for umami (savoury). These chemicals stimulate the taste buds, allowing users to experience different flavours artificially.

“These five flavors already cover a large part of the foods we eat every day,” says Jia. While e-taste is still in its early stages, researchers believe it could lead to advancements in virtual dining, interactive gaming, and even medical applications for people with taste disorders.

The e-taste system works by using sensors to detect different taste components in food. It then turns this information into digital signals and uses a small pump to send tiny amounts of flavoured gels through a thin tube placed under a person’s tongue.

To check how well it works, researchers first tested if it could copy single flavours. Ten people tried its version of sourness, and 70% of the time, they said it tasted just like the real thing. Next, they tested if e-Taste could recreate complex flavours like lemonade, cake, fried egg, fish soup, and coffee. A group of six people was able to recognize these flavours correctly more than 80% of the time.

Alan Chalmers from the University of Warwick warns that taste involves more than just flavour. Other senses, like smell and colour, greatly affect how we experience food. He explains that if you close your nose and eyes while eating a strawberry, it tastes much sourer than expected, but its aroma and red colour make us perceive it as sweet.

Chalmers also points out that while e-Taste can detect and recreate the strength of flavours like sweetness and sourness, it does not fully capture how the human tongue naturally experiences taste.

You might also be interested in - 19-year old girl raped, robbed, and forced to engage in obscene act with cousin