Enhance a Vegetarian Diet Using Umami | Press

Foods rich in the fifth basic taste of the human palate make dishes more flavorful and appetizing.

After being confirmed by the scientific community as the fifth basic taste of the human palate—alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter—Umami became closely associated with animal-based foods. What few people know is that this taste can be a great ally for vegetarians, making dishes more appetizing, which can help complement this diet, since many umami-containing foods are also rich in vitamins and minerals.

Hellen Maluly, professor of Bromatology and Food Toxicology at Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz, says the association of Umami with animal-based foods occurs because the amino acid glutamic acid (also called glutamate), the main component responsible for providing the fifth taste, is present in high amounts in this type of food.

On the other hand, the specialist explains that other substances can also promote Umami. “What many people forget is that, in addition to glutamate, the nucleotides guanylate and inosinate also provide the Umami taste, and these substances are present in foods of other origins, such as vegetables and fungi,” Hellen explains.

But how can we enrich a vegetarian diet using Umami?

According to the article “How Do Vegetarians Benefit from Umami?” published on the Umami Portal, “vegetables, greens, mushrooms, and seaweeds are examples of foods that, besides being very nutritious, can easily enrich a vegetarian’s diet.” This happens because one of the main characteristics of Umami is its ability to make other tastes more appealing to the human palate.

The fact is that Umami has always been present in vegetarian diets, though perhaps not consciously or clearly. “A complete salad of tomato, Swiss chard, cabbage, corn, and green peas is certainly much appreciated by vegetarians—and very rich in Umami,” the article illustrates.

Umami Committee

The Umami Committee of Brazil is a group created to discuss and disseminate topics related to the fifth basic taste of the human palate, Umami. The committee has a direct relationship with the Umami Information Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to research on the subject.