• KittenBiscuits@lemm.eeEnglish
    27·
    10 months ago

    That… is something that I’ve never wondered about, but now you’ve got me contemplating the flavor profile of various mineral aggregates.

    I can tell you what coal tastes like, not that I’ve eaten any. But when you burn it for heat, it gets everywhere. It’s bitter and kind of earthy but not like rich topsoil. More like you’ve been tailgating a school bus on a dirt road for hours. And the dirt is charred.

    • Crackhappy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      81·
      10 months ago

      I know what granite tastes like. I love putting a granite pebble in my mouth to suck on while trail hiking. I have been doing it since I was little, at this point it’s just nostalgia. Granite, after the first minute, just tastes like almost nothing really. At first though, it tends to be rather a dusty earthy flavor.

      • daveEnglish
        9·
        10 months ago

        Wait, do you get the pebbles out of the ground? Could explain the dusty, earthy flavour that wears off…

  • FollyDolly@lemmy.world
    17·
    10 months ago

    Y’know I used to eat rocks as toddler but for the life of me I can’t remember if I’ve had limestone and what it tasted like. Driveway gravel and those smooth river rocks on the otherhand definitely had a taste. Mostly gritty or smooth with hints of Sulphur.

  • PastyWaterSnake@lemmy.world
    16·
    10 months ago

    I work in limestone quarries every day. The dust and grit gets everywhere, and almost every day I will get some in my mouth. Sometimes pieces that are about the size of a skittle somehow make it into my mouth (no. They do not taste like lime Skittles)

    The taste isn’t the problem, it’s the gritty texture that makes it feel like you’re grinding away at your teeth. The taste is similar to steak seasoning. I keep some unflavored gum with me and chew it when I get some in my mouth. This allows me to enjoy the salty/savory flavor while getting past the horrible texture. If only they made steak-flavored chewing gum.

    • cheese_greater@lemmy.worldOP
      6·
      10 months ago

      I would be all over savory gum haha and thanks for the real-world/boots on the ground perspective

      Why do you think it tastes savory like that? Whats in it thats giving off that flavor?

      • Krudler@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        10 months ago

        Calcium has a distinct flavor that humans crave, just the way we love the taste of umami.

        edit: That’s also the answer to OP question. Limestone tastes like calcium.

      • PastyWaterSnake@lemmy.world
        1·
        10 months ago

        I was mostly joking, but I did get some oily/greasy dust in my mouth, and it tasted kind of burnt and spicy, which is why I came up with “steak seasoning”

        But yes, I do actually inadvertently get limestone in my mouth often, but unfortunately (or fortunately) it really doesn’t taste like anything. Maybe I will have to sample a larger size.

        I might ask our geologist if she “taste tests” the rocks, according to what another commenter said…

  • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
    161·
    10 months ago

    You’re reading the name wrong

    It’s lime’s tone

    It used to be green before the rain washed the colour off

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝AEnglish
    9·
    10 months ago

    When I was being taught geology the lecturers would occasionally lick a rock. I still don’t know if it was a joke as most rocks taste pretty neutraock If you are interested, give it a lick, it can’t do you any harm. Although bear in mind that limestones are a broad church, so you may need to lick a few to get an idea of the breadth of their taste nuances.

    Unless a rock contains ores then they are usually OK to taste so branch out after that.

    • Senshi@lemmy.world
      7·
      10 months ago

      Taste is actually a valid and very important identifier used for classifying minerals during geology field work when there is no access to advanced diagnostic tools. For health reasons, it’s obviously not the primary method, but it usually follows the “scrape test”. Scraping the mineral over a known hard surface tells a whole lot about hardness, texture, color, granularity…

  • Skanky@lemmy.world
    5·
    10 months ago

    From what I’ve learned living in Kentucky, limestone tasets like bourbon. Go figure