Why does ginger and other flavors make food and drink as sweet with less sugar?

[repoman]

I may be wrong on this, it is subjective and not double blind and all...

Been wondering about this for a while..

Seagram's ginger ale with 100 calories per 12 ounce can tasted as sweet as sprite with 140 calories.

It could be useful for people to use less sugar.

I hear that licorice root also tastes sweet, but it has side effect of lowering testosterone, IIRC. Not sure if the flavor or sweetness aspect of licorice affects testosterone.

Lemon/lime in drinks also is one of the few flavors that I can drink without wanting added sweetness.

 

[gmbteach]

My guess is it's your personal preference.

I also think that it depends on what you mix the ginger with! If you add it to chillies, for example, you are adding to the heat, and if you add it to a jam, it can sweeten it. Maybe it's an enhancer?

 

[DBT]

Seagram's ginger ale with 100 calories per 12 ounce can tasted as sweet as sprite with 140 calories.

It could be useful for people to use less sugar.

Some soft drinks have added artificial sweeteners. Less sugar but just as sweet. Artificial sweeteners may also have a negative effects on health if used excessively.

 

[repoman]

Seagram's ginger ale with 100 calories per 12 ounce can tasted as sweet as sprite with 140 calories.

It could be useful for people to use less sugar.

Some soft drinks have added artificial sweeteners. Less sugar but just as sweet. Artificial sweeteners may also have a negative effects on health if used excessively.

Ha, you are right!

https://consumerist.com/2013/06/26/seagrams-adds-splenda-to-ginger-ale-to-shave-off-calories-assumes-no-one-will-notice/

Seagram’s Adds Splenda To Ginger Ale To Shave Off Calories, Assumes No One Will Notice

 

[Malintent]

Some soft drinks have added artificial sweeteners. Less sugar but just as sweet. Artificial sweeteners may also have a negative effects on health if used excessively.

Ha, you are right!

https://consumerist.com/2013/06/26/seagrams-adds-splenda-to-ginger-ale-to-shave-off-calories-assumes-no-one-will-notice/

Seagram’s Adds Splenda To Ginger Ale To Shave Off Calories, Assumes No One Will Notice

View attachment 5986

but Sprite also is made with Corn Syrup too... I think it is a trick of the taste buds.

Try this neat trick:

Take a Granny Smith apple (green kind), or any other type of apple that is more tart than sweet...
Cut it into sections so the flesh is exposed in bite sized pieces.
Take a few grains of salt (literally just a few grains.. like 1/8 of a pinch - as little as you can get.. I cannot stress this enough)
.. and sprinkle just a few grains of salt on a bite-sized piece of tart apple. The exposed moist flesh will allow the salt to stick.

How does it taste? you will find it unexpectedly sweet. If you even detect a hint of saltiness, then you put way too much salt on.

after doing this the first time, I now always eat green apples with a tiny bit of salt Delicious.

 

[fromderinside]

Well

“Natural” sweeteners such as saccharides activate the GPCR, which releases gustducin. The gustducin then activates the molecule adenylate cyclase, which catalyzes the production of the molecule cAMP, or adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate. This molecule closes potassium ion channels, leading to depolarization and neurotransmitter release. Synthetic sweeteners such as saccharin activate different GPCR’s and induce taste receptor cell depolarization by an alternate pathway.

 Gustducin

 G protein-coupled receptor

So any molecule or group of molecules that activate GPCR to release gustducin or a combination of receptors that in sum as some later point in the ascending pathway result in gustpucin response (output)

You're welcome.