The Fifth Taste

Added: Mon Jan 14th 3:42pm
Posted in: Cuisine

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I asked the group in the last blog if anyone knew what the fifth flavor was....As you may remember, the first four are sour, sweet, salty and bitter.

The Fifth taste ( not to be confused with the Fifth Element, a movie with Bruce Willis) is called Umami. I learned about this from my good friend Tim Hanni, a Master of Wine and a Master Sommelier ( I think there are only two or three in the planet that have both titles) when we worked together about 10 years ago. Tim has done a lot of research in the search of what makes flavors in food and wine, and I was lucky as we worked together to learn a little about this amazing flavor.

Umami was 'discovered' about 100 years ago by a Japanese scientist named Kikunae Ikeda who worked at Toyko Imperial University. Umami basically translate to ' Deliciousness'. What is Umami? Basically it is a glumatic acid ( an amino acid) that Ikeda found as a key flavor in Konbu, a seaweed used in food in Japan. The flavor is described as 'savory'.

Umami occurs in many foods and is subtle. It expands and rounds out the palate. Think of a raw potato. No Umami. Now, think of a Baked Potato. Lots of Umami. The flavor of ripe tomatoes, the flavor in seafood like crab or mushrooms or parmesan cheese or cured ham are loaded with Umami. Umami makes food delicious.

There is a high level of Umami in breast milk, so it is safe to say that almost all of us had exposure to this flavor at a very young age. Children do not like bitter flavors. The sweet and savory flavors associated with Umami trigger nourishment, and these flavors continue to be things we like and search for as we grow.

Next time your having a bowl of Miso at your favorite Sushi place, you are getting a great idea of what Umami is like. Of course, if you're having fish after that, you are in Umami Heaven.

Next time on the Food and Insider Blog we'll be talking about the top 10 wines on my list that no one has ever heard of.

 See you there!