Oldest Flavor Enhancer In The World

[igman87]

Salt:

Has anyone ever thought of using salt as a flavor enhancer? Either in the base or in the shisha itself?

[mjdx88]

I could only see this being a bad idea. Adding it to shisha? I dont think it would do anything. I dont think salt burns and most likely it would dry out the shisha faster. Adding this to the base I could only see it giving you the taste of salt water.

[Bye bye now have fun]

no i use msg sorry

[SuburbanSmoker]

no i use msg sorry

LOL. that was full of win.


i would imagine salt would not taste very good considering it smells like crap when it is being burned. perhaps if the tobacco was first treated with spices it could taste earthy, but i just dont see how it would taste good. call always be our guinea pig!

[delSol_si]

If you want flavor enhancers, try tasty puff.

[hookah hippie]

I don't think that salt will work too well

[mushrat]

salt would propable change the burning characteritics of the tobacco as well.

[phatlucyhookah]

Salt wont enter the vapor phase at the temps we're dealing with here but possibly would affect the solubility of the flavors in the honey or molasses. You might get more tobacco flavor.

Some things added to shisha work very well. I'm in search of the holy grail of vanilla and AF fell painfully short for me. Vanilla bean, mixed into Romman vanilla and allowed to sit overnite, is heaven. Keep a little space between your foil and coals and mind the coals. Alot of work and $ but worth it as a splurge.

[ilikemyusername]

i have actually put a bit of salt in my base before, nothing happened.
also, salt in coffee... not so good.

[Stuie]

i have actually put a bit of salt in my base before, nothing happened.
also, salt in coffee... not so good.

2 pinches when brewing a whole pot works. Too much and it's salty.

Back on track. Base doesn't seem like it would effect a whole lot, probably not enhance the smoke. And nothing about putting it in with the tobacco sounds right.

[Mndgame]

Agree with the rest, especially if you put salt in the bowl. Salt boils at well over 1000 degrees celsius so it wouldn't make it make it into gas/smoke.

[shalowlow]

I don't think the true answer to the OP's question has been given.

and here it comes.....


wait for it.....




WHY?

[Rani]

Hmmmm....... Actually salt and sugar intensify each other. Something about the way our taste buds handle the combination. Ask any serious cook: Sugar is often added to salty things and vice versa. So a tiny amount might make your tobacco more candy sweet. The catch is that you'd probably have to dissolve it into liquid before hand. Perhaps the smallest pinch into glycerin before mixing it in?

'Rani

[erufiku]

OK related question: has anyone tried smoking after having some miracle fruit?

[igman87]

In a little while, I'll try dissolving a pinch of salt in a tsp of glycerin and adding to my Starbuzz Blue Mist. I'll give the results afterward.

[Rani]

In a little while, I'll try dissolving a pinch of salt in a tsp of glycerin and adding to my Starbuzz Blue Mist. I'll give the results afterward.

Woo Hoo for the volunteer guinea pig!

'Rani

[delSol_si]

In a little while, I'll try dissolving a pinch of salt in a tsp of glycerin and adding to my Starbuzz Blue Mist. I'll give the results afterward.

Woo Hoo for the volunteer guinea pig!

'Rani

What good are "noobs"(I hate using that word) if they don't volunteer as guinea pigs for experiments??

[igman87]

Ok, here it goes:

Ingredients:
1 tsp glycerin
1/4 tsp salt (any more than this and the salt will not dissolve completely)
1/2 tsp water

Tools:
1 2oz shot glass (pyrex)
1 ramekin (the typical size use for a personal serving of creme brulee)
1 glass stirring rod
1 electric stove or hot plate

Procedure:
Mix ingredients in the shot glass
Fill ramekin 3/4 full with water
Place ramekin on heating element
Place shot glass in the ramekin
Heat until the water in the ramekin is boiling
Stir contents of shot glass until the salt is completely dissolved
Remove shot glass from heat and set it aside for moment
Empty the water out of the ramekin and replace with 1 bowl of shisha
Continue heating
Measure 1 tsp of the shot glass mixture and pour over the shisha
Use medium heat until the shisha returns to the desired consistency, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and allow to cool until cool enough to handle with bare hands.
Stir once more
The resulting mixture should have a similar consistency to the original shisha used.

Human 'Guinea Pig' Testing
Taste:
The taste did not change much. Surprisingly, as Phatlucyhookah theorized, I did notice a slight increase of tobacco flavor.

Smoke Volume:
The volume of smoke had a noticeable increase and it could be due to one or more things;
The added glycerin most likely caused this effect, however I also theorize that while the glycerin is being vaporized, particles of sodium chloride enter the vapor trail and causes a similar effect to how rain droplets form (Rain cannot occur without microscopic particulate matter in the atmosphere. Water molecules are attracted to these particles and thus are the catalyst of rain drops as we know them)

Duration: Same

Other Observations:
The smoke had a cooler feeling as Starbuzz Blue Mist does contain some form of menthol.
I believe this is due to the water added during the procedure. I also noticed an increase in moisture accumulation around the tip of the hose.

[Rani]

In a little while, I'll try dissolving a pinch of salt in a tsp of glycerin and adding to my Starbuzz Blue Mist. I'll give the results afterward.

Woo Hoo for the volunteer guinea pig!

'Rani

What good are "noobs"(I hate using that word) if they don't volunteer as guinea pigs for experiments??

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I like it! Where's Mush???? Mushy! Can we find a way to make newbies volunteer for a certain number of experimens some way some how?

[Rani]

EDITED FOR SPACE
Human 'Guinea Pig' Testing
Taste:
The taste did not change much. Surprisingly, as Phatlucyhookah theorized, I did notice a slight increase of tobacco flavor.

Smoke Volume:
The volume of smoke had a noticeable increase and it could be due to one or more things;
The added glycerin most likely caused this effect, however I also theorize that while the glycerin is being vaporized, particles of sodium chloride enter the vapor trail and causes a similar effect to how rain droplets form (Rain cannot occur without microscopic particulate matter in the atmosphere. Water molecules are attracted to these particles and thus are the catalyst of rain drops as we know them)

Duration: Same

Other Observations:
The smoke had a cooler feeling as Starbuzz Blue Mist does contain some form of menthol.
I believe this is due to the water added during the procedure. I also noticed an increase in moisture accumulation around the tip of the hose.

Verrrrrrrrrrry interesting..... You'd probably have to ask Eric, but wouldn't heating the shisha possibly have also been responsible for increasing the tobacco flavor? Seem like in the back of my brain there's some memory of someone having said something like that..... Also, I'm curious what the effect would be on a non-mentholated shisha. One that's pure sweetness to begin with..... Hmmmm.......

'Rani

[igman87]

Verrrrrrrrrrry interesting..... You'd probably have to ask Eric, but wouldn't heating the shisha possibly have also been responsible for increasing the tobacco flavor? Seem like in the back of my brain there's some memory of someone having said something like that..... Also, I'm curious what the effect would be on a non-metholated shisha. One that's pure sweetness to begin with..... Hmmmm.......

'Rani

Yes, that is excellent thinking. Something in the back of my brain tells me that makes a lot of sense.

[igman87]

I would also like to note my findings of salt's solubility in glycerin:
It's not.
Hence the addition of water to the mixture.