Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Sour… and Umami | Press

Learn all about the fifth basic taste of the human palate.

Many people think the human palate recognizes only four basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. What few know is that, in the early 20th century, a Japanese researcher named Kikunae Ikeda discovered a fifth taste—something peculiar, different from those known until then.

Named umami—which could be translated as “savory” or “delicious”—the fifth taste was only recognized several decades later. In 2000, scientists at the University of Miami, led by researcher Nipura Chaudhari, confirmed the presence of a specific receptor for umami on the tongue, called mGluR4.

But which foods provide the fifth taste?

Certain substances are responsible for producing umami. The main representative is the amino acid glutamic acid, naturally present especially in animal-based foods such as cheeses and meats. Other substances, such as the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate, found in foods of various origins—mainly meats, vegetables, and fungi—also reproduce the fifth taste (see www.portalumami.com.br).

Hellen Maluly, professor of bromatology and food toxicology at Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz, explains that umami is difficult to describe. “Two main characteristics set umami apart from the others: increased salivation and a lingering taste for a few minutes after the food is swallowed,” she explains.

According to Hellen, Parmesan cheese, the food with the highest concentration of umami substances, is an excellent example for understanding the fifth taste. “After eating Parmesan, we feel a taste that remains on the tongue’s surface for a few minutes, after the salty taste has faded. In general terms, this is the umami taste,” the specialist 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.