We tested an electric salt spoon that could help keep your diet low in sodium

Let’s be honest: most low-sodium foods aren’t that great, which makes it hard for many of us to make the trade-off to lower our blood pressure and run away heart disease. In the middle of i gadgets and new technology in CES could be the solution to that problem.

The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon can give your food a salty taste without any of the downsides of added sodium. It was one of the flagship products at CES this year and took the place for the best strange technology in our List of CES awards.

The device sends electricity from the spoon to your tongue to give the sensation of saltiness. Trust me, you’re not the only one who thinks that electricity and languages ​​in general don’t mix. Fortunately, it is a weak electric current.

The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon comes in two parts: the spoon and the detachable handle, which houses all the technological pieces. The handle has menu buttons to change the four levels of saltiness. The spoon is quite thick in the hand, although this is not surprising with the batteries and electronic parts inside.

While the idea is cool, we have to admit that while testing the electric Kirin salt spoon, we thought it was…OK. The best way to describe the change in flavor of the broth provided in the demo was that it tasted more “full” when the load went on. The difference in taste was slightly noticeable between the intensity. Kirin notes in a release that experience will vary from person to person and the feeling may vary depending on the food.

The spoon does what it says, although activating the current might feel like the alignment of the stars for some. The handle is thick, with sensors on the back of the spoon that you have to touch to activate. Depending on your dexterity, you may need to put your fist around it, similar to how a child would. On the spoon segment, there is a different sensor that the food must touch to receive the salting explosion. The handle has a blue light under the button that turns white when ready. If the food changes the sensor in the spoon, you will lose your current and your food will not be salty.

Tapping the sensors on the back of the handle and moving the food to the right spot on the spoon to activate the current could be a balancing act that gets old fast.

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The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon is an interesting concept with an important mission to reduce sodium intake. I can see this spoon moving the needle significantly for people who need to quickly reduce their sodium intake for health reasons. When we tried the spoon, it added the flavor of the broth as described. However, I do not like this spoon. The steps to make it work are awkward, and we can’t rule out the possibility that the placebo effect could be at play at some point.

The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon is available in Japan and should be available in North America this year. It will cost about $125, which might be hard to justify for a spoon. Kirin says that people who use pacemakers or other medical devices should not use their spoon.