What does molten lava taste like?

[TBG]

@monstro

It tastes like burning.

Thanks, Ralph.

[Sage_Rat]

@Shakes

It tastes like chocolate cake.

Or, if it’s flowing, then it should taste like coconut and tropical fruit.

[CalMeacham]

@Peter_Morris

Given that there are circus performers whose act includes licking red hot pokers, it appears the human tongue can survive brief contact with very hot things. Maybe there is a GQ answer to this after all.

Just for reference, the temperature of molten lead is 327 C (620F). a red-hot poker is about 750 C (about 1400 F)

The temperature of molten lava is 700-1300 C (1300-2400F)
People can do things with molten lead and red hot iron that are protected by the Leidenfrost effect, as running coach observes. I wouldn’t count on it with lava.
I’m not sure you can get close to molten lava without being severely burned, even if you don’t touch it. Kids wouldn’t survive if the floor really was lava, and the third Star Wars movie wasn’t a documentary.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

What does molten lava taste like?

It tastes like Death.

[Ludovic]

Looking up lava, I had to think for a second or two if I’d rather taste this, or the other thing the picture reminds me of.

tubgirl

[XT]

@Cardboard

Just curious.

I’d say it tastes like nothing, since you’d be dead long before your taste buds would be able to register anything at all. I doubt there would even be any pain (not sure how you’d even go about tasting it, since just getting close enough TO taste it would kill you before you got into taste range :p).

[kopek]

@TriPolar

It tastes like burnt tongue for a few microseconds.

Do you expect someone to answer this based on experience?

Well, considering some of the things I’ve read here --------------

[chacoguy]

It seems like I once read about a man that had the misfortune to step in molten lava. His foot simply vaporized, apparently it didn’t even hurt.

[dr_zippermeyer]

I have wondered about many things in my life but never about this. Thank you for good laughs.

[Little_Nemo]

@GreasyJack

Tasting the contents of one of those “do not eat” desiccant packages garnished with rust might be a reasonable approximation.

Just pop it in the microwave for a couple of hours first.

[Scumpup]

It tastes like it smells.

[Aquadementia]

What is the pH? If we knew then maybe we can tell if it is bitter or sour.
Are there salts in it?

[Peter_Morris]

@CalMeacham

Just for reference, the temperature of molten lead is 327 C (620F). a red-hot poker is about 750 C (about 1400 F)

The temperature of molten lava is 700-1300 C (1300-2400F)
People can do things with molten lead and red hot iron that are protected by the Leidenfrost effect, as running coach observes. I wouldn’t count on it with lava.

So, you’re saying that molten lava *can *be cooler than a red-hot poker?

[Biotop]

Regular supermarket “molten” lava is quite bland compared to the artesian fresh-from-the-dome stuff.

[Peter_Morris]

@XT

I’d say it tastes like nothing, since you’d be dead long before your taste buds would be able to register anything at all. I doubt there would even be any pain (not sure how you’d even go about tasting it, since just getting close enough TO taste it would kill you before you got into taste range :p).

Not necessarily. See here. A crust forms on lava, it’s possible to walk on it. Someone is shown dipping a stick and getting a blob of lava on the end.

[Aquadementia]

@Biotop

Regular supermarket “molten” lava is quite bland compared to the artesian fresh-from-the-dome stuff.

I’ll look for it in the inorganic section.

[panache45]

A’a or pāhoehoe?

[grude]

This is like asking what a bullet through the brain feels like, and just like that long before the lava actually made contact with your taste buds the convection heat would destroy them.

[Colibri]

@panache45

a’a or pāhoehoe?

I think it would be AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

[msmith537]

Well, lava is around 2000 F and your face is mostly water, which boils at 212 F. So I imagine it tastes like your head exploding in a spray of steam and burned meat.