Umami

The fifth taste- Umami
Can you imagine life without taste buds? One of life’s greatest pleasures is enjoying delicious food.

When we eat, all of our senses are used to form a judgment about our food. The most determining sense for food pleasure is that of taste. Our taste buds, while distinct to each of us, determine how delicious a food is. For many years we believed that our taste buds include only four distinctions- sweet, salty, bitter and sour. But we now know there are more.

Everyone is familiar with sweet, salty, bitter and sour. But are you aware of the fifth taste-umami? More than 100 years ago, scientist Dr Kikunae Ikeda from Tokyo Imperial University was enjoying his lunch of Dashi stock made from Kombu (kelp). He tasted deliciousness in his soup that he was unable to identify. Being a scientist, he took the soup into his lab and discovered that glutamate or glutamic acid was the main ingredient in kombu (kelp). In 1908, Dr Ikeda was successful in extracting glutamate from Kombu and names the taste “Umami.” He was confident that this taste had to be in Western foods as well, so further study was done. Ikeda said in 1912, “those who pay careful attention to their taste buds will discover in the complex flavor of asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat, a common and yet absolutely singular taste which cannot be called sweet, or sour, or salty, or bitter …”

It was not until the 1980’s that further discoveries were made supporting Umami. Other ingredients that offered the Umami taste, included inosinate (found in meats) and guanylate (found in vegetables).
Umami is a pleasant and savoury taste, which is derived from amino acids. It is subtle and blends well with other taste to expand and round out flavors. It is unrecognizable by most people, but it plays a vital role in making food taste delicious.

David Kasabian, author of “Umami: cooking with the Fifth Taste”, states that understanding Umami can be helpful to our diet and health in many ways. Umami enhances the flavor of foods making them fuller and richer in flavor and therefore more satisfying. When we are satisfied with our food, we tend to eat less of it. 

In addition, Umami makes salt taste saltier. So if you are interested in reducing the amount of salt in your diet, increase the amount Umami rich foods you eat. Finally Umami creates a sensation on your palate that chefs referred to as “mouth feel.” We think of “mouth feel” as the sensation we get from eating fat. So if we want to reduce the amount of fat we eat, increase the amount of Umami rich foods.

Are you wondering if you have eaten Umami rich foods, but were unaware? Here is a list of foods where can you find Umami.

Seafood
Seaweed, kombu
Dried Bonita flakes
Dried sardines
Tuna
Mackerel
Cod
Shell fish
Prawn
Oysters

Meats
Beef
Pork
Chicken

Vegetables
Shiitake mushrooms
Enokitake mushrooms
Soy beans
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Chinese cabbage

Other
Parmesan cheese
Green tea
Soy sauce
Chicken eggs
Oyster sauce