A certain taste is always remembered. Even after years, you cannot forget its taste. It could be hot vegetable rice, soup or even a pizza with mushrooms and spicy tomato sauce. Do you still remember the smell and taste of that delicious recipe? If the answer is yes, then the reason is umami!
What is umami?
Apart from the already known four types of taste (sweet, salty, sour and bitter), there is another fifth taste, which can be called a combination of a special type of salt and broth taste. You will be surprised to know that there is a day dedicated to this fifth taste. World Umami Day is celebrated on July 25.
How was this flavor discovered?
The story of the discovery of this flavor is quite interesting. In 1908, Japanese chemist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda tried to figure out what made his seaweed broth (dashi) so delicious. His search led him to glutamate, a naturally occurring amino acid that gives the broth its slightly salty taste. Ikeda called it “umami,” which comes from the Japanese word “umai,” meaning delicious.
As we celebrate World Umami Day today, you might want to know more about this fifth taste and understand how important it is in making our food taste better.
Why do we love umami?
Chef Ajay Chopra explains, “Umami exists in the world of food and cuisine because chefs and cooks did not even understand its scientific side. Taste has always been important in defining our appetites, dislikes and nutrition. Sugar is our body’s source of energy or an indicator of glucose, umami means protein in our diet. In this case, man’s first food was meat, insects and plants, and all contain the protein responsible for umami in common foods such as tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, etc. Even breast milk contains glutamate, which shows that humanity is prone to this particular taste since the beginning of life.
Place of umami in various dishes
Umami is a central element in cuisines around the world. Dashi, a broth made from seaweed, is the main source of umami in Japanese cuisine. Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes are also used in Italian cuisine to enhance the umami flavor. Korean cuisine also uses fermented foods such as kimchi and anchovy fish sauce made from Napa cabbage and gochujang, which are rich in umami. Similarly, people in China use soy sauce and green onions to add umami flavor to their food. Mediterranean cuisine also includes umami in traditional dishes such as roast lamb with anchovies.
When it comes to Indian food, you will be surprised to find it in many of our dishes. Our cauliflower, tomatoes and beans naturally contain umami. Another umami-rich Indian dish is butter chicken, made of roasted chicken and tomato curry. Tomato shorba eaten while travelling by train or the Andhra-style favourite chicken vepudu also contain umami.
