AquaticTechTank.net

I make my know tofu and it uses some of the chemicals we dump in our tank. These are food grade chemicals so don't go tasting chemicals in the fertilizer aisle

1. MgCl2 - A really intense salty flavor that has a bitter after taste.
2. MgSO4 - a metallic slight salty taste.
3. CaSO4 - tastes like chalk
4. CaCl4 - bitter salty with some heat! not spicy but actual heat. No wonder it's used to melt icy sidewalks.

So it's the Chlorine that makes the things salty.

LOL! Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

5. KNO3 - Saltpeter. Was once considered an anti-aphrodisiac, and supposedly added to sailors' food for that effect. When dry and added to water, including directly on the tongue, it cools; an odd sensation. Does taste salty, I guess that's where the common name came from. But has an odd aftertaste, similar to salt substitute (KCl).
6. HCl - When diluted to the same strength, tastes somewhat like white vinegar, though harsher and less complex. If I had a recipe that called for vinegar as a minor ingredient, and was out, I'd consider substituting HCl; it's closer in flavor than say, lemon juice. Despite the Cl, it does not taste salty; perhaps the acidic flavor overwhelms it?

I did actually once manage to distinguish between two fert solutions I'd forgotten to label by taste.

You're a brave man tasting hydrochloric acid :O
It's not a salt, maybe that's why it's not salty. It needs a metal.

KNO3 is used to cure ham and hotdogs etc... I've never tasted directly though. It gives me a headache if I consume it too much. You might be right about it be considered anti-aphrodiciac. It plays with your blood pressure. That's why I get headaches from it.