Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What if there was a way to make food taste saltier without actually adding any salt?
Devin Peterson, Ph.D., and his team at the Flavor Research and Education Center at The Ohio State University work to identify molecules that contribute to our taste and smell perceptions, whether by directly activating biochemical receptors or by modulating those interactions. Along with his former student collaborator Irene Wang, Ph.D., Prof. Peterson explains a recent study that revealed salt-enhancing compounds in cumin and thyme.
This video was part of ACS Program-in-a-Box, a hybrid event presented free of charge to ACS member communities on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 during National Chemistry Week. The 2025 theme was "The Hidden Life of Spices," and the program featured presentations like this one, live Q&A with the experts, interactive trivia, and a box full of giveaways.
Learn how you can bring ACS Program-in-a-Box to your member community (and watch the full event recording) at acs.org/pib.
Credits:
Written by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, and Devin Peterson, Ph.D.
Edited and animated by Vangie Koonce
Produced by Vangie Koonce, Andrew Sobey, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matt Radcliff and Russel Silber
Appearances by Devin Peterson, Ph.D. and Ningyi (Irene) Wang, Ph.D.
Also shown: Edisson Tello, Stephanie Almquist, Vince Yang, Paola Forero, Julie Peterson, Kaden Havener, Srikanth Ponneganti, Isabel Gugger, Min Jeong Kang, Joshua Otubeikwu, and Elizabeth Hochberg
Film production by New Vision Media
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#chemistry #scent #spicy
What if there was a way to make food taste saltier without actually adding any salt?
Devin Peterson, Ph.D., and his team at the Flavor Research and Education Center at The Ohio State University work to identify molecules that contribute to our taste and smell perceptions, whether by directly activating biochemical receptors or by modulating those interactions. Along with his former student collaborator Irene Wang, Ph.D., Prof. Peterson explains a recent study that revealed salt-enhancing compounds in cumin and thyme.
This video was part of ACS Program-in-a-Box, a hybrid event presented free of charge to ACS member communities on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 during National Chemistry Week. The 2025 theme was "The Hidden Life of Spices," and the program featured presentations like this one, live Q&A with the experts, interactive trivia, and a box full of giveaways.
Learn how you can bring ACS Program-in-a-Box to your member community (and watch the full event recording) at acs.org/pib.
Credits:
Written by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, and Devin Peterson, Ph.D.
Edited and animated by Vangie Koonce
Produced by Vangie Koonce, Andrew Sobey, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matt Radcliff and Russel Silber
Appearances by Devin Peterson, Ph.D. and Ningyi (Irene) Wang, Ph.D.
Also shown: Edisson Tello, Stephanie Almquist, Vince Yang, Paola Forero, Julie Peterson, Kaden Havener, Srikanth Ponneganti, Isabel Gugger, Min Jeong Kang, Joshua Otubeikwu, and Elizabeth Hochberg
Film production by New Vision Media
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#chemistry #scent #spicy
