Wait. What? According to a just-released survey of customer data from 23andMe, generations of Valentine’s Day gift givers have been getting it wrong. In fact, the 23andMe findings reveal that 58% of people prefer the taste of salty to sweet. 

Sound like a recipe for disaster? 23andMe doesn’t dish out such a finding without serving a heap of facts. Here, we’ve broken them up for you.

Sweet vs. Salty: 

Of the over 500,000 customers worldwide who responded to the question of which they like more:

• 42% preferred sweet;
• 58% preferred salty;

            Female: 

• Sweet: 131,270 (44%)
• Salty: 168,830 (56%)

            Male: 

• Sweet: 91,395 (40%)
• Salty: 139,080 (60%)

            Age:

          20-29

• Sweet: 40%
• Salty: 60%

         30-39

• Sweet: 40%
• Salty: 60%

         40-49

• Sweet: 42%
• Salty: 58%

        50-59

• Sweet: 41%
• Salty: 59%

        60-69

• Sweet: 42%
• Salty: 58%

        70-79

• Sweet: 43%
• Salty: 57%

Sweet v. Salty on Valentine’s Day: 

• 52% of people said they prefer dark chocolate to its sweeter cousin, milk (despite the fact that eating dark chocolate makes 1% of customers sneeze!).

And finally, Do they really even eat chocolate?:

• 30% of customers said they eat chocolate each week;
• 16% said they eat chocolate daily;
• Almost 2% responded saying they eat chocolate several times a day.

So, if you really want to win your lover’s heart, perhaps you’d be wise to ditch that box of chocolates and wrap a bow around a pickle jar, instead.