Umami has gone mainstream — and although umami has become a part of our communal lexicon for well over a decade now, do you know what it is? Could you describe it? It is still a bit elusive…
Umami is an ancient flavor that has defied definition for centuries — steeped in tradition, and yet made to feel popular only relatively recently.
As one of the five primary tastes, it is crucial to know about umami when stepping into the kitchen. Whether you’re brushing up on your knowledge, or have no idea what I’m talking about, take a minute to learn everything you need to know about that trending fifth taste with this essential one-pager.
What is it?
Umami is one of the 5 basic tastes that our taste buds are designed to recognize — along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The umami flavor is characterized as savory and meaty like a rich broth or cured meat. We taste umami when taste receptors on our tongues react with glutamates in our food. Now bear with me for the technical part, glutamates are amino acids, the basic building blocks of proteins, and are found in protein-rich foods. Additionally, the ribonucleotides inosinate and guanylate, which are contained in some foods, are known to have a synergistic effect with glutamates, amplifying the umami flavor.
Where can I find it?
Many foods are naturally rich in glutamates. The foods most commonly known for their high glutamate content are red meats, poultry, broth, seaweed, soy, tomatoes, mushrooms, anchovies, fish roe, and aged cheeses. Inosinate is most commonly found in animal proteins, while guanylate is found in mushrooms, seaweed and tomatoes. In many cases aging these foods will concentrate the umami flavor, as will fermenting, which is caused by glutamate-rich yeasts. The addition of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to foods is another source of umami. MSG is made by fermenting starches and exists in powdered form. Its flavor and effect on food and on the human body are indistinguishable from naturally occurring glutamates.
Why is it important?
Of all the basic tastes, umami is the most hearty. It is the flavor that builds structure and body in food, in much the same way that tannin does so in wine, around which the other flavors have more dimension to shine. Quintessential comfort food is defined by umami and its ability to warm, satiate, and make us salivate. Adding umami-rich ingredients often results in equally flavorful food with less salt, indicative of umami’s seasoning-power and ability to build complexity.
Why haven’t I heard of it?
Umami’s 4 taste counterparts — sweet, sour, salty, and bitter — have been widely accepted since the time of ancient Greek philosophers. When taste buds were first discovered by physicians in the mid-19th century, these four tastes were immediately dubbed the foundational elements from which all other taste sensations are composed. Although umami-rich ingredients have been deliberately used for thousands of years, it was not until 1908 that the taste was first scientifically identified by Kikunae Ikeda. Umami’s place among the basic tastes remained contested by the scientific community until 1985 at the first Umami International Symposium.
The late acceptance of umami certainly contributes to the lack of awareness surrounding the taste. However, perhaps the biggest hurdle to umami-awareness is that isolating and tasting the flavor in its purest form is not commonplace — I would wager that most people have not tasted a spoonful of MSG. Meanwhile, most of us are familiar with the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavors of sugar, lemon juice, salt, and coffee, respectively. But no matter how intensely savory a food may be, umami is still one element in a complex flavor profile. Although this elusive aspect of umami makes it the most difficult taste to define and recognize, it is a crucial element of cuisines around the world, and one to which we have all been exposed whether we know it or not.
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