Umami

Umami
Soy sauce, ripe tomatoes and miso are examples of foods rich in umami components.

Umami (/uːˈmɑːmi/ from Japanese: うま味 Japanese pronunciation: [ɯmami]), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes.[1] It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.[2][3][4][5]: 35–36 

People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in meat broths and fermented products. Glutamates are commonly added to some foods in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG), and nucleotides are commonly added in the form of disodium guanylate, inosine monophosphate (IMP) or guanosine monophosphate (GMP).[6][7][8] Since umami has its own receptors rather than arising out of a combination of the traditionally recognized taste receptors, scientists now consider umami to be a distinct taste.[1][9]

Foods that have a strong umami flavor include meats, shellfish, fish (including fish sauce and preserved fish such as Maldives fish, katsuobushi, sardines, and anchovies), dashi, tomatoes, mushrooms, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, meat extract, yeast extract, kimchi, cheeses, and soy sauce.

In 1908, Kikunae Ikeda of the University of Tokyo scientifically identified umami as a distinct taste attributed to glutamic acid. As a result, in 1909, Ikeda and Saburōsuke Suzuki founded Ajinomoto Co., Inc. which introduced the world's first umami seasoning: monosodium glutamate (MSG), marketed in Japan under the name "Ajinomoto." MSG subsequently spread worldwide as a seasoning capable of enhancing umami in a wide variety of dishes.[10][11][12][13]

In 2000, researchers at the University of Miami identified the presence of umami receptors on the tongue, and in 2006, Ajinomoto’s research laboratories found similar receptors in the stomach.[13]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Torii_2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fleming_2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Blake H (9 February 2010). "Umami in a tube: 'fifth taste' goes on sale in supermarkets". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jufresa_2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mouritsen_2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nelson_2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Delay_2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chaudhari_2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference npr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "MSG is the most misunderstood ingredient of the century. That's finally changing". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 January 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  11. ^ "What is umami, the mysterious taste of Japanese cooking?". Japan Today. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Kanagawa: Unmasking science, history behind umami". Yomiuri Shimbun. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b "History". Ajinomoto. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
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