Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The flavor called "delicious"

How did I not know about this before?

Of course we all know the four basic flavors: salt, sweet, sour, bitter. But it wasn't until I read the July/August issue of Experience Life that I found out about the fifth flavor. It's called umami.

Or, when most simply translated from Japanese: delicious.

Check it out.
Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. Erin AvilesAugust 3, 2009 at 3:56 PM

    I've heard it's sort of like the "savory" flavor that other cultures emphasize more than we do. Know what I'm talking about?

    ReplyDelete
  2. BethAugust 4, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    Yeah, the article talks about aged cheeses, olives, soy products, and many other (mostly savory) foods thtat are naturally umami-rich. Chemically, the explanation boils down to glutamates, which is why MSG has the taste appeal that it has--even though you can achieve that flavor much more healthfully by using umami-rich whole foods.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)