Fifth Basic Taste Presented to Students in Campinas | Press

Initiative aims to popularize the taste among Brazilian children.

On the 20th, umami specialist— the fifth basic taste of the human palate — Hellen Maluly taught a class to around 50 third-grade elementary students at Colégio Educap, located in Campinas (SP). The goal of the pharmacist and professor at Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz is to popularize the umami taste among Brazilian children.

Discovered in 1908 by Japanese researcher Kikunae Ikeda, umami was only recognized by the scientific community in 2000. Despite the evidence, the fifth taste has not yet been included in the textbooks of most schools in the country.

For Hellen, it is necessary to spread knowledge about umami while also dispelling myths related to taste. “Taste means a lot to a child. From a young age we put things in our mouths in order to learn more about the organoleptic properties of foods and what we will feel when tasting them. That’s why it’s important to pass along all available information at this learning stage,” the specialist argues.

According to the professor, interaction with the children could not have been better. “They were very curious and managed to understand well what the umami taste is, even though the word still sounds strange. We also held a tasting, and it was a lot of fun,” says Hellen.

In addition to support from the Umami Committee Brazil, which aims to popularize the concept of the fifth taste, the specialist also had the support of Colégio Educap. “Since I’m from Campinas and have contact with the school’s directors, I thought it would be interesting to share this work,” explains the pharmacist.

In 2010, Hellen had already been invited by Educap to take part in the school’s science fair. “On that occasion I spoke about taste. From then on, they ended up introducing the umami taste into the third-grade elementary students’ teaching materials,” the pharmacist adds.

Another project developed by Hellen, in partnership with the Umami Committee, is to include the word “umami” in Portuguese dictionaries. “I believe we’ll achieve this soon, since the word is already found in important dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary,” she concludes.

UMAMI TASTE

Umami is the fifth basic taste of the human palate and was discovered in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. However, it was only recognized by the scientific community in 2000, when researchers at the University of Miami found specific receptors on the taste buds. The amino acid glutamic acid and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate are the main substances that provide umami. Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and meats in general are foods that contain these substances in large proportions and therefore present the fifth taste more prominently. The two main characteristics of umami are increased salivation and a lingering taste for a few minutes after eating.