As they say, you eat with your eyes, which is perhaps why so many people lost their appetite when they watched a video showing what appears to be fresh pasta moving.
We've all seen those clips of moving meat, right? Every now and then they pop up online, showing frog legs or raw beef jumping to life after having salt thrown on them.
Although it might look like something straight out of a horror movie, the real reason they do that isn't quite as exciting.
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It turns out the salt creates a chemical reaction, causing the muscles to spasm.
Which begs the question: why is the pasta moving? Well, let us explain...
Though the noodles appear to have taken on a life of their own, it's actually what's sprinkled on top that's to blame.
Those moving morsels are katsuobushi, aka bonito flakes - anyone who's enjoyed the Japanese dish okonomiyaki will know what these are.
The paper-thin shavings are made up of skipjack tuna that has been simmered, smoked and fermented, and they add a great umami flavour to any dish.
In this case, they've been added by an Italian chef to some fresh pasta, which has created enough heat to make it look like the flakes are dancing.
If you're not familiar with the ingredient, it can be a little jarring.
This was the case for TikToker Emma Mirte, who shared a clip of her dish with text over the top that reads: "POV: Eating pasta in Italy and it starts moving."
In the caption, she asked: "Can someone tell me what this is?"
A number of viewers were equally as baffled, with one writing: "Nah I don't trust that nope I can't."
"This happened to me at Ruby Tuesdays," said another. "Turned out there was stink bugs in their salad bar."
A third added: "The way my smile faded," while a fourth chimed in: "I would never eat pasta after this."
It might be a no for them, but for those familiar with bonito flakes, the footage offered up nothing more than a delicious-looking fish dish.
"It's dried shaved bonito flakes," said one. "It's moving because the steam from the food beneath it is hydrating it again."
Another commented: "Heat in the air moving the very fine bonito flakes," alongside a laughing emoji.
And just in case you didn't hear it the first time, a third said: "They are bonito flakes. They move like that on top of hot dishes."
Topics: Food And Drink, Viral, Weird, TikTok
Daisy Phillipson