What is Umami and What Does It Taste Like?
Umami is a term coined by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in the early twentieth century to describe the fifth basic taste alongside salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. It's that rich, meaty taste you get when you sink your teeth into a perfectly grilled Wagyu steak, slurp up some miso soup, or bite into a chunk of aged Parmesan cheese.
Here's a fun experiment: hold your nose and take a sip of chicken broth. That lingering good taste? That's umami in action. It's often described as "savory" or "meaty," but those words don't exactly capture its essence; they don't quite define umami. Just like you can't really describe "salty" without using the word salt, umami is its own unique sensation, and unique taste buds are responsible for detecting this umami flavor.
Jump to:
History
Humans have been striving to increase umami in food since the dawn of human civilization. In ancient Europe, a fermented fish sauce called garum, similar to Southeast Asian fish sauce was widely used as a seasoning by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans, while in Asia, soy sauce was created by fermenting soybeans.
The compounds responsible for this distinctive taste were poorly understood until a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, isolated glutamic acid from kelp in 1907. He proposed the link between this amino acid and the taste he called umami (旨味 - meaning the "essence of taste"). The validity of professor Ikeda's work was debated for decades, and it wasn't until 1985 that the global scientific community accepted umami as a basic taste.
How Do We Taste Umami?
Taste buds are our body's way of recognizing foods that contain nutrients that our bodies need, while also helping us avoid toxins. Just like we have taste buds on our tongues to detect salty, sweet, sour, and bitter tastes, we have several taste receptors (mGluR1, mGluR4, and TAS1R1 + TAS1R3) capable of recognizing various compounds as umami. These receptors bind with amino acids such as glutamate, signaling your brain about the hit, which then interprets it as umami.
Some of these taste receptors can also bind with nucleotides, such as inosine monophosphate (IMP) and guanosine monophosphate (GMP), creating a synergistic effect that's like adding 1+1 and getting 10.
As for why we crave umami-rich foods, biology is part of it, but it may also be psychological. Breast milk and its analogs are extremely rich sources of amino acids, so for most of us, our first taste memories are literally loaded with umami. Just thinking about these foods can get your saliva flowing. A comforting bowl of chicken broth stimulates umami taste receptors, transporting you back to childhood, and in Japan, dashi serves a similar purpose.
Umami in Foods
Although coaxing umami out of food is a hallmark of Japanese cuisine, you could make the argument that it's the cornerstone of cuisine from any part of the world. The world's most popular foods, like pizza, hamburgers, sushi, and fried chicken, are all umami examples. Ripe tomatoes, soy sauce, aged cheese, and even chocolate are packed with the fifth taste. Whether they knew it or not, chefs have been striving to create umami foods since humans started cooking. With that in mind, here are three ways you can increase the umami and depth of flavor in foods:
Use amino acid and nucleotide-rich ingredients
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so foods rich in protein tend to have a robust umami flavor. Alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and proline are just a few examples and can be found in a wide variety of plants such as kelp, tomatoes, and green tea; and animal products like dry-cured ham, cheese, and anchovies.
Nucleotides such as IMP and GMP have a synergistic effect with amino acids boosting the sensation of umami beyond what either one alone would produce. IMP is found in meat and seafood, while dried mushrooms are a rich source of GMP. Try this out for yourself by making a batch of my Umami Seasoning Salt.
Cooking
The act of heating food to cook it results in the degradation of protein into its constituent amino acids. This alone can increase the taste of umami in food, but as the temperature rises, you get a form of non-enzymatic browning called the Maillard reaction. Whether it's the browned crust on Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls or Burnt Basque Cheesecake, or the deep mahogany color of sautéed onions, the Maillard reaction is the chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that creates new flavor compounds as well as umami.
Fermentation
This is the most time-consuming of the three methods for increasing umami because the fermentation process is time-consuming. However, it can be the most effective, as microbes and the enzymes they release breakdown protein into amino acids. Some examples of this are soy sauce (soybeans and wheat), miso (soybeans and rice or barley), cheese (milk), katsuobushi (the dried fermented fish used in dashi), and sake(rice). These fermented foods are easy to add to non-fermented foods to increase the flavor of umami. Teriyaki sauce, miso salad dressing, and dashimaki tamago are all excellent examples of how to boost umami with fermented foods.
Try adding some of these ingredients and techniques to your favorite foods, even non-Japanese recipes; no doubt you'll truly understand the power of these amazing compounds.
Umami Video
FAQ
Umami is a Japanese loan word used to describe the fifth taste, alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It was first described by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. He is responsible for giving this flavor the definition "essence of taste", which is what the word umami literally means. It is a taste for which we have specific taste receptors in our mouths triggered by being exposed to foods that contain amino acids and/or nucleotides.
Umami is a three-syllable word that is pronounced as follows:
u like oops
ma like mall
mi like meat
Umami is often described as a savory taste, but it is not just limited to salty foods. Baked goods such as cakes and cookies benefit from the umami in amino acids found in butter and Maillard browning in the flour and sugar, creating savory flavors. In its purest form, umami is the taste of MSG or monosodium glutamate. Although MSG is produced in a lab by fermenting starches and sugars to create glutamic acid, glutamate is a compound found abundantly in nature. That's why it's possible to make umami-rich dishes without adding MSG.
If you think about a protein as a Lego castle, amino acids are the individual blocks that make up the protein. Amino acids are, in essence, the building blocks of every living thing. They are an essential part of life, so humans have umami taste receptors to detect these compounds in foods.
Although MSG is produced in a lab, many foods we eat are a naturally abundant source of umami-producing amino acids. Soybeans, rice, and milk are just a few examples, and when these umami-rich ingredients are fermented to make things like soy sauce, sake, and cheese, the degradation of the proteins creates even more umami-producing amino acids. Konbu, tomatoes, onions, and many other vegetables contain glutamates. Meat and dried shiitake mushrooms are other abundant sources of amino acids, but these also contain nucleotides such as IMP and GMP, which can synergize with certain amino acids to act as a multiplier of umami.
In recent years, the concept of umami, often referred to as the "fifth taste," has gained significant attention in culinary circles and popular culture alike. Scientific research has validated umami as a distinct taste, independent of the other four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The Umami International Symposium of 1985 solidified its place in the culinary lexicon, leading academics and food scientists to further explore the physiological effects of umami. Understanding how umami interacts with the taste buds and enhances flavor complexity has garnered attention from the scientific community, food scientists and chefs, driving further exploration into its applications in food preparation. Rising interest in umami stems from its culinary versatility, health benefits, scientific recognition, the popularity of fermented foods, and the emotional satisfaction it brings. As more people become aware of its unique properties and how it can elevate their meals, umami is likely to remain a hot topic in the culinary world for years to come.
Supriyaa Lonari says
Hello and नमस्ते from India
UMAMI Is the best word suited for my nonveg food venture. But my friend who stays away from me ...has taken up the name....I want to use the same word but now can't do so......pls help me use word Umami I some or the other way please
Waiting for your reply Sir /Ma'am
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Supriyaa, "umami" is often misused, but it's the word for a specific taste (like salt, sour, sweet, and bitter). The taste is registered by our brains when we put foods containing amino acids in our mouths. This often involves foods that contain protein (as amino acids are the building blocks of protein), but they can also be found in a lot of plants like tomatoes, beans, cabbage, corn, onions, garlic, etc. I hope that helps!
IzzieK says
Great topic, excellent useful info.
Gomo arigato gosaimasu.
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm glad to hear it was helpful!
oksana says
thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
You're welcome!