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"  Whether it is a chocolate-covered pretzel or salted caramel or the simple, guilty joy of a French fry dipped into a chocolate milk shake, there is no denying the delectable pairing. We&amp;#039;ve all enjoyed the marriage of sweet and salty at one point in time. But have you ever stopped and wondered why the two go together so well? Well, put your science goggles on because researchers have found some answers. More from Delish: Sweet and Savory Brunch Recipes  We all know that taste buds allow us to taste (it&amp;#039;s in the name, after all). But what you may not know is that each taste bud contains 50 to 100 taste cells, which are actually what do the tasting. Each of these cells responds to a different flavor: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or umami. We perceive taste (let&amp;#039;s use sweet as an example) when sugar and a sweet receptor protein interact, causing the sweet cell to become excited and send a signal to the brain, which then registers the flavor as sweet. This is a process that scientists have known for a long time. But recently the process has been further complicated by what researchers have found out about certain sweetness receptors. A study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that certain sugar receptors that were thought only to exist in the gut were spotted on sweet taste cells on the tongue. Researchers, led by Dr. Robert Margolskee, of the Monell Chemical Sense Center, found the SGLT1 receptor \u2014 which transports sugars into cells only when sodium is present \u2014 on sweet taste cells on the tongues of mice. This could explain why sweetness is accentuated by salt \u2014 the receptors are activated when salt accompanies sugar. More from Delish: Super Seasoning: The Best Gourmet Sea Salt So there you have it. The next time you enjoy caramel corn, you&amp;#039;ll know what to thank: good old SGLT1 receptor. What&amp;#039;s your favorite sweet/salty combo? We&amp;#039;ve rounded up a few of our own below. Sweet and Salty Recipes        Salted Fudge Brownies      Roasted Apples with Saled Maple Cream      Apricot-Yogurt Semifreddo with Salted Pistachio Brittle        Salted Golden Caramel Bars      Peanut Butter and Pretzel Truffles      Sea Salt Caramels     "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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