June Festival with Umami: delicious festa junina recipes packed with the fifth taste

São Paulo, June 2024 — Viva São João! Many consider this season the best time of the year and, along with it, comes a variety of delicious traditional foods. With that in mind, Ajinomoto do Brasil—owner of brands such as SAZÓN®, MID®, and VONO® and a leader in amino acid production—selected festa junina recipes brimming with umami, a Japanese word that means “delicious” or “savory.”

Umami is the fifth taste of the human palate, alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It is also characterized by a lingering taste on the tongue and increased salivation—that famous mouth-watering sensation. It’s provided by certain amino acids, mainly glutamate, found in foods like cheeses, meats, corn, and more.

Check out five recipes that awaken the umami taste and will make your arraiá even more appetizing:

QUEIJADINHA (Coconut–Parmesan Tartlets)

Prep time: 20 minutes (+ 35 minutes in the oven)
Yield: 25 units
By: Umami Committee

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, separated (150 g)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (395 g)
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (100 g)
• 5 tbsp all-purpose flour (50 g)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (100 g)
• 2 packs shredded dried coconut (200 g)

Directions

• In a medium bowl, add the yolks (previously strained), the egg whites, and whisk for 30 seconds. Add the condensed milk and butter and mix well. Gradually add the flour, grated cheese, and coconut, stirring until smooth.
• Line 6 cm (2.4 in) tartlet/empada molds with paper liners and divide the batter among them. Bake in a preheated medium oven (180 °C / 350 °F) for 35 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

SAVORY CORN CAKE

Prep time: 25 minutes (+ 20 minutes in the oven)
Yield: 8 servings
By: Umami Committee

Ingredients

• 4 eggs (200 g)
• 1 tsp salt (5 g)
• 2 cups milk (400 ml)
• ½ cup unsalted margarine (100 g)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (110 g)
• 1½ cups fine cornmeal (fubá) (195 g)
• 1 tbsp baking powder (12 g)
• 200 g queijo de coalho (Brazilian curd cheese), cubed

Directions

• In a stand mixer bowl, add the egg whites with a pinch of the salt and beat until foamy. Add the yolks, milk, margarine, and the remaining salt; continue beating until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and gently fold in the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder.
• Spread into a greased and floured 30 × 20 cm (12 × 8 in) baking pan, sprinkle the curd cheese on top, and bake in a preheated medium oven (180 °C / 350 °F) for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Tips:

• If you don’t have a mixer, use a blender to combine the wet ingredients; fold in the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder by hand.
• If you like, add bits of smoked, fried calabresa sausage to the batter.

CHEESE CAKE WITH PAÇOCA TOPPING

Prep time: 1 hour 50 minutes (+ 40 minutes in the oven)
Yield: 8 servings
By: Umami Committee

Ingredients — Cake

• 1 cup sugar (150 g)
• ½ cup unsalted butter (100 g)
• 3 egg yolks (60 g)
• 100 g coarsely grated Parmesan
• ½ cup milk (100 ml)
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (165 g)
• 3 stiff-beaten egg whites (90 g)
• ½ tbsp baking powder (6 g)

Ingredients — Topping

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (395 g)
• 1 small carton heavy cream (200 g
• 5 paçocas (Brazilian peanut candy), crumbled (100 g)

Directions

1. Make the cake: In a mixer bowl, beat sugar, butter, and yolks on medium speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add the grated cheese and beat briefly to incorporate. Add the milk alternating with the flour, gently mixing with a whisk until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites, then the baking powder.
2. Pour into a greased and floured 20 cm (8 in) Bundt/tube pan and bake in a preheated low oven (160 °C / 320 °F) for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove, cool slightly, unmold, and set aside.
3. Make the topping: In a small saucepan, add condensed milk, cream, and 3 crumbled paçocas. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes, until thickened to a porridge-like consistency.
4. Remove from heat, spread over the unmolded cake, sprinkle with the remaining crumbled paçoca, and serve at room temperature.

SAVORY PAÇOCA WITH PINE NUTS (Paçoca Salgada de Pinhão)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
By: Umami Committee

Ingredients

• 200 g pork shoulder, 1 cm cubes
• 200 g beef top sirloin, 1 cm cubes
• ½ tsp salt (5 g)
• ½ tsp AJI-NO-MOTO® monosodium glutamate (2 g)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper (1.5 g)
• 1½ tbsp pork lard (22.5 g)
• 100 g diced bacon
• 1 medium calabresa sausage, cubed (130 g)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (150 g)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped (3 g)
• 300 g cooked, ground Brazilian pine nuts (pinhão)
• ½ cup chopped scallions (20 g)

Directions

1. In a bowl, season the pork and beef with half the salt, half the AJI-NO-MOTO®, and half the pepper. Set aside.
2. In a medium cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, melt 1 tbsp lard over medium heat. Add bacon and sausage; fry on low for 3 minutes, or until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to a medium bowl.
3. In the same pan, add another ½ tbsp lard and brown the pork over low heat for 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon and sausage.
4. Repeat with the beef, using the remaining ½ tbsp lard, browning for 5 minutes; transfer to the bowl.
5. In the same pan, add the remaining lard, onion, and garlic; sauté for 1 minute until translucent, without browning. Return all the meats to the pan and heat through. Add the ground pine nuts and stir to combine.
6. Season with the remaining salt, AJI-NO-MOTO®, and pepper. Remove from the heat
7. Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately.

Tips:

• To obtain 300 g cooked, ground pine nuts, pressure-cook 350 g pinhão for 40 minutes after it reaches pressure. Turn off heat and let the pressure drop. Peel while warm and process.
• A cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan works best.

SAVORY PAMONHA (Corn Tamales)

Prep time: 2 hours
Yield: 10 servings
By: Umami Committee

Ingredients

• 10 ears fresh green corn (2.2 kg)
• 1 cup milk (200 ml)
• 1 tbsp sugar (12 g)
• 2 tsp salt (10 g)
• 1 tbsp margarine (15 g)
• 1 cup soybean oil (200 ml)
• ½ tsp baking powder (2 g)
• 100 g grated Parmesan cheese
• Corn husks for cooking the pamonhas

Directions

1. Remove the husks from the ears of corn and reserve them for cooking the pamonhas.
2. Grate the corn or cut off the kernels and blend with the milk until smooth.
3. Wash and dry the reserved husks. Fold each into a cone, overlapping the sides and keeping the wider side at the top. Hold the overlap with your fingers and fold the bottom of the cone upward to form a little cup. Fill with some of the corn mixture, close like a small packet, and tie with kitchen twine.
4. Cook in boiling water for about 1 hour, or until the husks change color and turn yellowish.
5. Remove from heat, drain, and serve.
6. Transfer the blended corn to a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients except the husks, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

For more recipes that deliver the fifth taste, visit the Portal Umami website.

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 confirmed the existence of specific receptors for this taste on the 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 a lingering taste for a few minutes after eating. Learn more at www.portalumami.com.br.