Cheese Bread Day: Celebrate the Date with a Crispy and Umami Recipe

Credits: Umami Committee

São Paulo, August 2022 – Soft and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside. The famous cheese bread from Minas Gerais has conquered everyone’s palate and crossed geographic borders! Whether for breakfast or an afternoon snack, this delicacy is a staple in people’s daily lives.

With its simple and delicious nature, Cheese Bread Day is celebrated on August 17. The recipe was developed around 1750, when farmers in Minas Gerais began producing milk and dairy products.

But do you know that delicious taste you feel when you bite into a piece of cheese bread? It has a name: umami. Considered the fifth basic taste of the human palate, umami creates that savory sensation, prolonging flavor in the mouth.

According to the Umami Committee’s nutritionist, Lisiane Miura, cheese is an umami food because it contains glutamate, the amino acid responsible for the umami taste.

“The more aged the cheese, the more umami it will be! That’s what makes the recipe more flavorful and prolongs its taste. There’s also the mix of textures — the crispy crust contrasting with the soft interior. Together, all these factors create the famous combination that pleases so many palates,” she explains.

Now it’s time to learn the recipe and share it with your friends and family! Check it out below:

CRISPY CHEESE BREAD
Prep time: 30 minutes (+ 20 minutes in the oven)
Yield: 42 units

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups (tea) sweet tapioca starch (400 g)
• 1 ½ cups (tea) milk (300 ml)
• ½ cup (tea) oil (100 ml)
• 1 egg (50 g)
• 1 teaspoon salt (5 g)
• ½ cup (tea) grated Parmesan cheese (50 g)
• 1 cup (tea) grated Minas-type cheese (100 g)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, place the tapioca starch and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and oil and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Pour over the starch and mix well with a spoon.
4. Let the dough cool slightly, then knead with your hands until lukewarm. Add the egg and incorporate it into the dough. Add the salt and cheeses, and continue mixing until smooth and homogeneous.
5. Shape small balls and place them on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated medium oven (180°C) for 20 minutes or until golden.
6. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

UMAMI
It is the fifth basic taste of the human palate, discovered in 1908 by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda. It was scientifically recognized in 2000, when researchers at the University of Miami found specific receptors for this taste on taste buds. The amino acid glutamic acid and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate are the main umami substances. The two main characteristics of umami are increased salivation and the prolonged taste that lasts for several minutes after food consumption.
To learn more, visit www.portalumami.com.br and follow on social media: facebook.com/gostoumami and instagram.com/ogostoumami.