WATCH: This Is Why We’re Obsessed With Saturating Everything With Salt

From salted caramel to Chocolate Salty Balls, it’s a well-known fact that the mineral makes everything taste tastier. But have you ever stopped and wondered… Why?

We hadn’t. Until now.

This vid, featuring food scientist Harold McGee of YouTube‘s Mind of a Chef, explains the facts behind our very real and valid obsession with salt:

Basically, we’ve got five known basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, umami (savoury) and salt. Yes, salt is a taste in and of itself. Grool, uh?

The molecules in salt suppress our sensation of bitterness, making things more delicious. What’s even grooler, as McGee explains, is that when you add sodium to a dish, it makes the food less hospitable to the aroma molecules. They then haul ass out of there, and into the air, resulting in a stronger smell. And stronger smell = tastier taste. That’s science.

Salt is also a big factor in making your steak a helluvalot tastier. When you brine a meat, the mineral weasels its way into the muscles, having a tenderising and moistening effect. Mmm.