One remembers a certain taste. Even after years, you cannot forget its taste. It can be hot vegetable rice, soup or even pizza with mushrooms and spicy tomato sauce. Do you still remember the aroma and flavors of the delicious recipe? If the answer is yes, it’s because of umami!
What is umami?
In addition to 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 find out what makes his seaweed broth (dashi) so delicious. His search led him to glutamate, a naturally occurring amino acid that gives broth its slightly salty flavor. Ikeda called it “umami,” which comes from the Japanese word “umai,” which means delicious.
Now that we are celebrating World Umami Day today, you might want to learn more about this fifth taste and understand how important it is to improve the taste of our food.
Why do we like umami?
Chef Ajay Chopra explains, “Umami has been present in the world of food and cuisine because chefs and cooks did not even understand the scientific side of it. Taste has always been important in defining our appetites, aversions and nutrition. Sugar is the source of our body of energy or an indicator of glucose, umami means protein in our diet. In this case, the first food of man 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, indicating that humanity is predisposed to this special taste from the beginning of life.
Place of Umami in various cuisines
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 umami flavors. Korean cuisine also uses fermented foods such as kimchi made from Napa cabbage and gochujang and anchovy fish sauce, 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 features 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 have umami. Another umami-rich Indian dish is butter chicken, made with roasted chicken and tomato curry. The tomato shorba enjoyed while traveling by train or the beloved Andhra-style chicken vepudu also contain umami.
