What is umami

Amaro, dolce, salato, acido e umami.

 Bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and umami. The Japanese discovered it, but it has always been on our tables and is synonymous with healthy food

Have you ever heard of umami taste? It is a Japanese term, used to name the fifth taste: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and therefore umami, which literally means savory or savory (saporito o sapido)

In the vast world of flavors, umami represents a category of its own, a complex and multifaceted taste that can enrich and intensify the culinary experience.

 This taste, often described as “savory” or “meaty,” is present in a variety of foods, from animal to plant-based. Umami can be experienced in a pure way in foods such as meat or fish broth, but it is also present in many other foods that we consume on a daily basis.

History and Origin of Umami

With studies begun in 1908 in Japan by the scientist Kikunae Ikeda, people began to talk about the presence of a taste in addition to the four canonical. A savory taste (umami literally means tasty in Japanese), indefinable through the four flavors used until then.

The Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who managed to isolate glutamic acid, the substance responsible for this taste, from kombu seaweed broth, noticed that this flavor did not fall into any of the four taste categories recognized at the time and therefore decided to identify it as a taste in its own right. Despite its discovery, umami was only recognized as a distinct taste in 1985, during the first international congress of physiology of taste.

Chemical and biological characteristics of umami

Umami is mainly caused by two substances: glutamic acid and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate. These substances are present in many foods and are released during cooking, fermentation, or maturation. When these substances interact with the taste receptors on our taste buds, they cause the umami sensation

There are very interesting studies about the value of umami but today I just want to emphasize the presence of umami in traditional Italian cuisine.

Let’s be clear, people have been cooking certain products for a long time on their own or combining them just because in the end the taste was fantastic. Recipes were followed just to put together certain products to make them even tastier, but no one thought of umami

Nowadays, with the studies done, we can make our lives a little easier by choosing those products that have been defined as rich in umami and that used at the same time enhance this ability even more

What is umami taste .

How does umami taste so good and special

Its improving effect is tangible and very complex, probably for 3 main reasons.

1) The umami taste makes your mouth water: it’s not a statement just to say; It is scientifically proven that umami increases the flow of salivation; In this way, the perceived taste of the ingested food becomes greater

2) While the receptors of the other tastes are located in very limited areas on the tongue, the fifth taste is perceived practically on the entire tongue,

3) The umami taste lasts much longer, unlike the others which, although they can be strong and clear, persist only a few seconds: the brain worships with happiness hormones, preferring more persistent happy feelings, just like the umami taste.

data obtained from the “Umami Information Center”

Umami in the daily diet

Umami is glutamate naturally present in food and ,according to what scientists and doctors say, reaching a dangerous altitude (for sensitive people 3G is considered risky) is rather unlikely, if taken naturally.

Umami, like all tastes, plays a fundamental role in our diet. It can help improve appetite and satiety, making foods tastier and more palatable. Additionally, umami can help  to reduce salt consumption, as it intensifies the flavor of foods. However, it is important not to overeat foods that are high in umami as we are talking about foods that are, although naturally ,rich in glutamate.

Where the umami taste is

For traditional Italian cuisine, we are talking about

Cured ham

Tomato, dried tomato, tomato paste

Garlic

Potato

Carrots

Onions

Cabbages

Asparagus

Chicken

Beef

Anchovies

Fresh and dried tuna

Dried porcini mushrooms

Meat and fish broth

Legumes

Walnuts

To give you an idea, consuming a dish of pasta with tomato sauce enriched with a generous splash of Parmigiano cheese, let’s fill up on umami

Umami in Italian cuisine: recipes and tips

Incorporating umami into Italian cooking can be easier than you think. Many traditional Italian dishes, such as pasta with tomato sauce, pizza margherita, or mushroom risotto, are already rich in umami.

To increase the umami content in your dishes, you can add ingredients such as Parmigiano cheese, mushrooms, cured ham, tomato paste, chopped olives, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Choosing cooking techniques such as grilling or browning can also help release umami from foods.

Below we give some small tips with traditional recipes.

How to increase the umami taste of food in a natural way with typical products of Italian cuisine

– Add the dried mushrooms (or fresh ones), in your dishes

– Use Parmigiano Reggiano to enhance the flavor of the dishes;
– Use sun-dried tomatoes (try making them yourself, with our recipe) or tomato paste, or fresh ones

– Use garlic and onion generously: these two ingredients, in addition to giving the dish a considerable umami taste, will also make it rich in antioxidants and vitamin C,

Umami represents a world of flavors to explore, capable of enriching our culinary experience and opening up new possibilities in the kitchen. This taste, once recognized, can become a precious ally to make our dishes tastier and more palatable. However, as with all tastes, it is important not to exceed in its consumption and always look for a balance in our diet.

For some ideas, try our recipes

click on the name for the recipe

Mushroom risotto

Sea bass with Mushrooms

Escallops with black poplar mushrooms

Preserve sun-dried tomatoes

Sun dried tomato Sauce

Baked onion flower

Asparagus in Italian cooking

How to use Parmigiano rinds

Unexpected homemade chocolate Parmigiano cheese

So our salient points refer to how well known the umami taste is nowadays, how easy it can be to find it in typical ingredients of Italian cuisine and some ideas of traditional Italian recipes that already made use of it even before it was given a proper name.

Buon appetito !