The flu can easily knock you off your feet and into your bed for a week. In the early stages, when you oh-so-badly want to believe the congested, feverish specter glaring back at you from the mirror is experiencing a bad cold, you may be inclined to take a flu test.

Nowadays, this involves a swab of your (likely) stuffy nose. One day? It could be piece of chewing gum.

Researchers have created a tiny molecular sensor that gives off an herbal, thyme-y flavor when it comes into contact with influenza.

A lower tech than the aforementioned swab, it relies on the patient’s sense of taste — and could even notify them of their illness before classic flu-like symptoms appear. So far, the sensor has been successfully tested in vials with human saliva from unlucky folks who had the flu, as well as on human and mouse cells.

In the future, scientists plan to integrate the technology into chewing gum or lozenges with a goal appreciated by those eyeing sneezing co-workers or suspiciously subdued children: to prevent presymptomatic transmission, especially for those in high-risk environments.

It could also help increase at-home screenings, saving folks a trip to the doctor.

According to the study, the team wanted to engineer something around a detector that people have inherent access to: their tongue.

While it might be some time before this option is winking at you from the checkout aisle of a grocery store, scientists are already planning their next steps, which include human clinical trials to confirm the sensor’s taste people with both pre- and postsymptomatic flu.

Some might even call that bit of news … mouthwatering.