Gail McQueenProfessional Home Economist |
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© Gail McQueen 2011. Contact Gail for reprint rights. BackWhat is Umami?Umami is derived from the Japanese word "umai" meaning delicious. In culinary terms it commonly refers to savouriness or the sensation of savouriness. Some describe it as a mouth watering feeling with that little extra that makes food taste delicious. It is considered to be the fifth taste; sweet, salty, sour, and bitter being the other four. Whether a fifth taste or not, umami certainly warrants attention. It has the ability to enhance flavour and palatability, to increase satiety and research suggests that it may even improve digestion. Chemically, umami is caused by the presence of free amino acids, particularly glutamic acid, and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate. If glutamic acid makes you think of monosodium glutamate, you are quite right. The food industry has known about the chemistry of flavour enhancement for years and monosodium glutamate (MSG), a common flavouring ingredient, is simply the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Umami occurs naturally in many foods, such as mushrooms, parmesan cheese, ripe tomatoes, anchovies, asparagus, and soy sauce. Even breast milk is known to have umami. This may partially explain the absolute look of contentment universally seen on the faces of nursing infants. Sometimes foods that taste bland may actually have umami potential, that is umami that is locked up. This is common in high protein foods where amino acids are bound into protein molecules and nucleotides are tied up in the building blocks of RNA and DNA. Umami can be released from these tasteless molecules by freeing the bound flavour components. This can be, and is done by cooking or through enzymatic action in the form of aging, curing or fermentation. Just consider how the flavour of meat develops through cooking; similarly the qualities that arise from the aging of cheese, the curing of meat and fish, and the fermentation of soybeans for soy sauce and miso. A good part of that flavour is umami. Dishes that have umami, taste better. Their flavours are intensified and rounded out. An even greater flavour boost occurs if different types of umami are combined. When foods high in glutamate are combined with foods high in the nucleotides inosinate or guanylate, the resulting taste intensity is greater than the sum of the individual flavour components. This is synergistic umami. Examples of synergistic umami are everywhere; those tasty pasta sauces that are a combination of tomato sauce high in glutamate with cooked meat high in inosinate or that sumptuous Caesar salad with the dressing that combines aged cheese (high in glutamate) with anchovies (high in nucleotides). Cooked mushrooms have synergistic umami all on their own. Just adding them to any dish greatly boosts the flavour. Think of cooked mushrooms on steak, mushrooms cooked on pizza or in an omelet. It's all synergistic umami and it tastes great. Understanding and utilizing the principles of umami has many positive implications. From a health point of view, when there is umami, the amount of salt, sugar and fat used in cooking can be greatly reduced without sacrificing taste. For people trying to reduce weight, the satisfying taste and satiety that umami gives may help them feel full sooner and longer. Population groups who have impaired taste and smell (the elderly, the sick, those undergoing medical treatments etc.) often suffer from poor nutrition. Incorporating umami into their meals might help them enjoy their food more and allow them to benefit from a healthy diet. From a business perspective proper manipulation of umami can create foods that the consumer really likes and would like to have again. This translates into success for any food business. As umami research continues to evolve I am sure we can look forward to many enjoyable taste sensations in the future. MMmmmm...umami! For more information see the Umami Information Center web site. |
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