Is Umami just a buzzword?

Nowadays, the word Umami has become a ‘buzzword’. It’s common to hear people talk about it without really understanding the meaning or the scientific facts behind it. That’s why I wanted to share my knowledge about this word, to set the facts and data clear. 


The word umami is the fifth core flavor that we can sense in our mouths. The first four being: sweet, savory, sour and bitter. Umami was discovered over 110 years ago in Japan, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the taste receptors were found and so, it was in that moment declared the fifth basic taste.


Why has this word become such a big deal? There are three important characteristics that we cannot disregard. First, you will be able to recognize the umami flavor because it spreads all across your tongue. Then, this flavor will last longer than regular sweet, savory, sour or bitter flavors. Lastly, umami provoques a mouth watering sensation. 


Just to get you a little bit into context, umami was discovered by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda in 1908 while he was enjoying a good bowl of kelp broth called kombu dashi. He wondered what was the flavor that he was perceiving, aside from the four basic ones. Later he named it umami, which literally means “essence of deliciousness”. 


Umami is the result of some components of the flavor called glutamate which is the amino acid of the building blocks of protein. That is the component that sends signals from your tongue and stomach to your brain to prepare for protein digestion. The most popular is the mono sodium glutamate or GMS which is the white powder that you have probably seen being used in Asian cooking to bring up the flavor. There’s a study in which the Word Healthy Organization expressed that we have to reduce the world's salt intake to 30% and using this monosodium glutamate which contains ⅔ less sodium than table salt, we could achieve that goal. 


Even though this glutamate is a chemically processed condiment, we can find it in several natural products. Two of the most abundant are parmesan cheese and ketchup. These are natural umami boosters that contain a great amount of natural glutamate. We can also find umami in tomatoes, hopefully cooked to increase the umami concentration. It’s also found in mushrooms, cheese, cured meats and some fermented elements like soy sauce. Just to name a few. 


Has it happened to you, that you are cooking and then you taste your preparation and you feel something’s missing, but you just don’t know what it is? Then you proceed to add some salt to it. Instead of doing that, you can use the naturally umami boosters to your food. That way you’ll not only reduce your salt intake,but also you’ll have a meal packed with amazing flavors. 


 You have got to be careful, because adding too many umami ingredients to a dish won’t make it sensational. Many of the foods that are rich in umami are also rich in acidity and salt, so you could simply try to add a couple of umami ingredients to make a difference from a good dish to a great dish. 


I hope that after reading this article, you’ll find yourself in a much better position to go and try to use some umami natural boosters for your food!