Say Hello to Umami

By Barbara J. Avery

(Originally published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)

For centuries, four tastes have been recognized: sweet, sour, bitter and salty.  But the re was an elusive flavor, a subtly savory one,  that remained to be identified and named.  In 1907, Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University began research to discover the certain substance that rounds out o the r flavors in food.   

The flavor the professor sought was found in asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat, but he couldn’t classify it. He found that the flavor was present in Konbu, a traditional Japanese soup made of seaweed.  From the Konbu, he extracted glumatic acid, an amino acid.  That was it!  He had the distinctive taste for which he had been searching. Ikeda made a seasoning of that taste that we commonly know as MSG or monosodium glutamate. The name of the flavor?  Umami.   

Umami is found  in foods throughout the world.  In Asia , umami is present in beans, grain, fermented seafood based products, shitake mushrooms, seaweed and dried seafood.  In the western world, we experience it when we eat fermented and cured meat and dairy products such as cheese and ham.  Red, ripe tomatoes also pack a umumi punch.  

Some wines have umami. According to Sam Gugino of Wine Spectator Magazine, wines with “high ripeness levels” such as Australian Shirazes, “big fat creamy” Chardonnays, and “round, delicious” Champagnes are exceptionally full of the rich taste.  

You can enhance umami when cooking.  Slower cooking, such as simmering, intensifies delectable flavors, including umami.   Flavorsome umami can also be added to our meals with oven roasted tomatoes, and by adding a touch of sugar to tomato sauces.   

Here’s a recipe for umami-filled miso soup from the kitchen of Carol’s Oriental Foods in Grand Junction .

Miso Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:  

Method:  

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Add bonito flakes and continue boiling until flakers sink to bottom of pan.  Drain, reserving liquid.   

Return liquid to pan. Add tofu and shitakes.  Heat over medium heat until tofu and mushrooms are heated through.  

Remove from heat and add the miso.  Garnish with green onions and serve.

 * Soak in warm water for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove excess liquid from mushrooms before using.