For centuries, the Western world recognized four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It wasn’t until the 20th century that a fifth taste was scientifically identified and accepted, a taste that is fundamental to the deliciousness of countless dishes around the world. This taste is umami, a Japanese word that roughly translates to “pleasant savory taste.” It is the rich, meaty, and deeply satisfying flavor that makes a slow-cooked stew, a ripe tomato, or a hard, aged cheese so incredibly crave-worthy.
Umami is the taste of glutamates, which are amino acids found naturally in many foods. When our taste receptors detect the presence of glutamates, they send a distinct signal to our brain that we perceive as umami. This taste has a unique effect on the palate; it creates a sensation of fullness, broadens other flavors, and can even cause a physical sensation of mouth-watering. It is the flavor that signals to our brain that we are consuming protein-rich, nourishing food.
A fascinating aspect of umami is that its effect can be amplified through synergy. When foods high in glutamates are combined with foods containing other specific compounds called nucleotides, the umami taste is magnified exponentially. This is the scientific reason why classic food pairings are so delicious. For example, a beef burger (glutamates) topped with cheese (more glutamates) and a mushroom-based sauce (nucleotides) is an umami explosion. Understanding umami allows cooks to move beyond just balancing sweet and salty and to start building a deeper, more satisfying layer of savory flavor into their dishes.
The scientific discovery of umami is credited to Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who in 1908 identified glutamate as the source of the savory taste in seaweed broth, leading to the creation of monosodium glutamate (MSG).