Although only recently, the fifth flavor umami has been making big news in restaurants and cookbooks all over the world, it really was first introduced in 1908. For those of you who haven't heard of umami, it is now known as the fifth taste, after sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. It is a savory taste that plays a role in rounding out and blending flavors. In other words, it makes the food delicious. :)
Now, back to the history. Umami was first discovered by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of The Tokyo Imperial University, which is now known just as Tokyo University. As you may know, or may not if you aren't obsessed with Japanese food, dashi is a soup stock, made using kombu, bonito, and water; kombu being the main ingredient that gives dashi its rich, umami flavor. Dr. Kikunae Ikeda wondered why dashi was so delicious, and as I said before, it was because of the kombu, or dried kelp. He was able to extract the active ingredient in kombu, glutamate, and tasted it. The word umami was what he used to describe the taste sensation. In Japanese umami means taste, in case you were wondering. :)
Umami is found in...
- kombu
- bonito
- meats- beef, pork, chicken
- parmesan cheese (It has the same amount of umami flavor as kombu; umami isn't necessarily Japanese.)
- soy sauce
- green tea
- truffles
- tomatoes
- fish
- mother's milk (It also actually contains the same amount of glutamate as kombu. I guess babies are sophisticated eaters!)
Itadakimasu!