Salt vs. Sauce in Bento: An Unlikely Combination

A story about the taste of combinations in the world of bento that seem unlikely, yet possible, and are actually not very good.

I'm writing this from scratch today. I was writing with a focus on appearance for a while, but since writing with a focus on appearance makes the writing speed very slow, I've switched to writing from scratch halfway through😅.

Today's lunch battle was a "Chicken Croquette Bento." When you hear this, many people might think chicken means fried chicken, but it's actually grilled chicken with salt.
some people might think.

While eating this bento, one of my long-standing questions was finally answered. Hehe(*'▽')..... Finally.

The chicken was grilled with salt, and the croquette had Worcestershire sauce on it. In other words, it was a bento where salt and sauce coexisted. This combination of side dishes seemed unlikely, but looking back, it was actually common in both homemade bentos and store-bought ones. I didn't see it much on bento display shelves, but for some reason, I had plenty of opportunities to eat it.

Every time, I thought to myself.

Why is the satisfaction after the meal so thin?

I thought about it. A lot. And then, I understood. Why I had felt that way until now.

The composition of the taste battle between salt vs. sauce looks delicious from the outside, but there are various differences between the two. Especially between salt, which is only salty, and sauce, which contains sweetness and acidity, the strength of the taste itself is won by the sauce.

And surprisingly, it seems that the sauce paralyzes the taste buds on the tongue, which are the taste detectors.

When you walk the tightrope of taste from salt to sauce, it feels normal and delicious, but when you return from sauce to salt, you feel a great sense of discomfort, like Wait, was salt supposed to taste like this?. Since it's a matter of sensation, there may be individual differences, but after looking into various things, it seems that paralysis of the taste buds is possible.

Even if I say paralysis, it's not numbness. Paralysis here means "the taste buds can no longer correctly receive the tastes they were originally able to receive." If the taste buds are energetic and healthy, they can correctly detect the tastes placed on the tongue, but the sauce has the image of temporarily occupying the taste buds with the taste of sauce.

Aha. So that's it😋. That makes sense. No wonder grilled chicken with salt and a sauce-covered croquette don't go together. I often eat sweet and salty things alternately because the interaction of tastes makes both flavors stand out, and I thought it was the same if I replaced the sweetness with sauce in that composition. But unfortunately, that was wrong.

Therefore, in a chicken croquette bento, the correct way is to eat all the grilled chicken with salt first, and then eat the sauce-covered croquette. You should never mix these two. I have concluded that by doing this, you can maximize your satisfaction after the meal😋.

Wow, only now?? I might think. Realize it sooner (lol) > myself. Since I mixed them today (probably a Japanese habit lol), it didn't taste good. I learned something good. I'll remember to use it next time I have a bento.

And this rule is the same for homemade bentos. So, to all the mothers out there. Please don't put salty side dishes and side dishes that require sauce in the same bento😅. No, you can put them in, but if you do, please tell the person eating it, "Please eat all the salty side dishes first."

If they mix them, the bento you worked so hard to make won't be enjoyed, and that would be a waste of ingredients, the meal opportunity, and your love☺.

Now, what shall I try tomorrow?

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