Umami

So much umami.

Umami is the fifth taste.

Umami is the fifth flavor.

Umami is the mysterious “fifth taste”—a flavour that has never seemed to fit into the existing categories of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. South-east Asian chefs have exploited it throughout history—it's an essential part of the taste of seaweed, among other things[…]

But we are, of course, sweaty, fleshy lady-animals – all fur and umami.

A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.

I quickly realized that I have always been obsessed with umami; I just didn't know it. It's why a sprinkle of Parm on just about anything heightens that dish's flavor; it's why grilled smoky mushrooms taste so good. Umami is a deeply satisfying taste, and luckily for us, umami is everywhere—it's in tomatoes and soy sauce, fresh and dried mushrooms, aged cheese, nutritional yeast […]