Learn to identify the umami taste | Press

To be able to recognize the fifth taste, you must first know where to find it. Animal-based foods are the best examples for identifying umami.

Umami taste was discovered in 1908 by the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. Popular in countries such as Japan, where children learn about it at school, the fifth taste of the human palate does not have the same level of dissemination in Brazil. Therefore, even though it has been known for more than a hundred years, it still isn’t easily identified.

To recognize the fifth taste, you must first know where to find it. Animal-based foods are the best examples for identifying Umami. Cheeses and meats are rich in the amino acid glutamic acid, which means this taste is naturally present in these foods.

Hellen Maluly, professor of bromatology and food toxicology at Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz, explains that everyone consumes Umami foods without even realizing it. “Spaghetti Bolognese is an example of a meal rich in the fifth taste. Tomato, meat, and Parmesan cheese make up a typically Umami dish,” the specialist illustrates.

TAKE THE FOLLOWING TEST AND FEEL THE UMAMI TASTE

1. Try foods that are rich in each of the five basic tastes, for example: chocolate to represent sweet, lemon juice for sour, peanuts to taste salty, boldo tea or tonic water to identify bitter, and Parmesan cheese for Umami.
2. Consume each food separately, leaving some time in between and drinking water so that each taste can be felt independently. Leave Umami for last.
3. When you put the Parmesan cheese in your mouth, notice that your salivation increases immediately and, a few minutes after swallowing, the taste lingers on the surface of your tongue. These are the two main characteristics of the Umami taste.

If this experiment doesn’t work, try another way: dissolve a little monosodium glutamate (available in any supermarket) in a glass of water. After drinking it, you will notice the fifth taste and its main characteristics.

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 glutamate and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate are the main substances that provide Umami. Parmesan cheese, tomato, mushrooms, and meats in general are foods that contain these substances in large proportion and therefore display the fifth taste more intensely. The two main characteristics of Umami are increased salivation and a lingering taste for a few minutes after eating.

UMAMI COMMITTEE

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