Cooking With The Flavor Umami

When reading about the description of a recipe there are four recognized basic taste groups to describe it, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

But there has been a discovery of a fifth taste that has officially been named, umami. This discovered fifth taste is described as having a mild but lasting aftertaste associated with salivation and a sensation of furriness on the tongue, stimulating the throat, the roof, and the back of the mouth.

Umami, is not considered desirable as a standalone flavor but adds complexity when paired with other known flavors, that is sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Like this Red Pear & French Bean Salad made with umami flavor.

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The History Of Umami

Umami means “pleasant savory taste” in Japanese and it isn’t really a newly discovered flavor.

As far back as the third century China, and even in medieval Byzantine cuisine umami was used as a flavoring.

In medieval Byzantine cuisine (330 to 1453) a condiment called garum was used to add savory flavor to dishes. This condiment contained the fifth taste, which was made by fermentation of fish (Source).

Garum is similar to our modern day soy and fish sauces.

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So what is the chemical composition that makes up the umami taste? It’s glutamic acid.

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Cook’s Notes

Many people confuse umami and glutamates with monosodium glutamate know as MSG.

But the two are not the same. MSG is made by isolating and extracting the sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid.

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Glutamic acid occurs naturally in many foods, and was not scientifically identified until early in the twentieth century around 1866.

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With furthered scientific research of glutamic acid by the Japanese in 1907, the term umami was coined for describing the taste of glutamic acid. Which is better known as sodium glutamate.

Then in 1985 at the Umami International Symposium held in Hawaii (USA), it was determined that umami was not produced by any combination of the 4 basic know tastes (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter).

But rather, was an independent taste and had its own specific receptor on the human tongue for its taste.

With rising scientific research since the 1980s about this fifth basic taste, it hasn’t been until recent years that this savory taste has gained popularity. Especially with Asian Fusion Cuisine in the U.S.A.

As a matter of fact, you might have already been using umami in your cooking before knowing this information. How so?

Cooking With The Flavor Umami

Foods you are probably already using in your cooking with umami elements can include both hard-cured beef and pork, including gravies, broths, tomatoes, cheese, such as Parmesan, soy sauce, anchovy paste, fish sauce and miso, with the later two especially high in umami flavor.

Make an umami-rich meal using easy-to-find ingredients with recipes like these:

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Here’s a recipe you are sure to be familiar with, if you enjoy a good Cesar salad with real Cesar dressing and didn’t know the subtle umami flavors from the use of Parmesan cheese and anchovies or anchovy paste.

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Try these recipes with umami flavor using Parmesan cheese:

• One Skillet Creamy Parmesan Dijon Chicken
• Crispy Parmesan Thyme Sweet Potato Stacks
• Cashew Pesto Sauce

All types of smoked meats like ham, bacon, and sausage are loaded with umami flavor naturally. Dried, cured, meats tend to be good ways to add flavor to your cooked dish.

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Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamates and that includes tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes (Read More Here: Cooking With Sun-Dried Tomatoes).

When using tomato paste in a recipe, consider browning it in the skillet for additional flavor development.

Like with this recipe, Turkish Inspired Chicken And Orzo Soup With Garlic And Paprika, where the tomato paste is placed into the warmed skillet with the olive oil, and garlic then cooked until several shades darker, then the other ingredients follow (Read More Here Cooking With Tomato Paste).

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Miso is another food that contains the umami flavor. Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning.

It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans. Chickpeas or garbanzo beans can also be used to make miso. Such as is used in this Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette. Try this recipes using miso as well, One-Skillet Mango Chicken Thighs with Basil-Coconut Sauce.

If you have used barbecue sauce, like this Homemade Honey Barbecue Sauce or used Worcestershire Sauce on your steak, you have used a umami rich food.

As you can see it is very easy to cook with umami-rich ingredients and elevate even the most simple dish. 

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More Deliciously Yummy Recipes

• Roasted Sweet Potatoes With White Miso and Maple Syrup
• Guide To Cooking With Salt
• Fruit-Based Seasonings You Use Every Day Without Even Realizing It
• Easy Chicken Tinga Tostadas: A Flavor-Packed Mexican Classic with an Asian Twist
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes And Chickpeas with Feta, Pomegranate And Maple Tahini