Umami
The Fifth Part of Taste
Umami is a relatively new concept to Western food lovers, and is the Japanese term used to describe the fifth 'taste' after sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
There is no direct English translation, but close relatives of the concept include 'savouriness' and 'pungency'.
The taste of umami itself is often described by referring to such foods as parmesan, cured ham, anchovies, soy sauce, ripe tomatoes, seaweed, and many other 'tasty' foods.
Although the taste-enhancing properties of ingredients such as soy and seaweed have long been known in the far east, it was only in 1908 that a Japanese scientist Dr Kikunae Ikeda discovered that the effect was caused by glutamic acid, and coined the term umami to describe it.
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