Definition: umami

The corresponding sensory cells react to amino acid glutamate, which is found in natural protein-rich foods such as meat, shellfish and cheese, as well as in spice mixtures such as Aromate and soy sauce.

In 1908, Japanese professor Kikunae Ikeda identified this new flavour while tasting a broth made from fucus seaweed. He did not recognise any of the four basic flavours known at the time (sweet, salty, sour, bitter). He called this new flavour umami, which can be translated as savoury. Since the 1980s, proponents of the four-flavour theory have added this fifth flavour to their typology and retained the name umami. Umami corresponds to a savoury taste, similar to broth. It is found in monosodium glutamate, which is often used as a food additive despite its bad reputation (justified by its ability to cause allergies).

Researchers in Florida (USA) believe they have identified this fifth taste: umami. Food producers are already licking their lips, because umami is the taste of deliciousness.

On average, humans have between 2,000 and 5,000 taste buds in their mouths. Using these taste receptors, we can identify sweet, salty, sour and bitter tastes. But American scientists believe they have identified a fifth taste: umami.

Umami is a Japanese word meaning delicious. Umami is the taste of monosodium glutamate (MSG), an additive that many restaurateurs and food producers add to their products. And with good reason, as research conducted on animals shows that they react specifically to MSG. Their reaction is clear: after tasting it, they want more. It is therefore a product that is highly appreciated by those in the food trade. And food producers are delighted with the discovery, which seems to confirm what they already knew. When added to food, MSG also makes humans want to eat more. Parents may also be delighted with the discovery. Seasoned with the right amount of MSG, Brussels sprouts may become children's favourite dish. Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is a salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of animal and plant proteins. Meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products naturally have a high glutamate content. In addition, glutamate is a major intermediate product in many metabolic processes that sustain life.

Glutamate can be present in both food and animal tissues and organs in two forms: a "bound" form when it is linked to other amino acids to form proteins, and a "free" form when it is not. Only "free" glutamate has sapid properties and contributes to the flavour of food. It plays a major role in the palatability and acceptability of many foods.

Research conducted in the field of taste physiology over the past 25 years has scientifically established that umami is a fifth fundamental taste.

Specific receptors for umami taste have been identified in the taste cells of the taste buds on the tongue. It has been shown that some of the nerve fibres that transmit taste information from the tongue to the brain, as well as some of the neurons located in several areas of the brain responsible for processing taste information, respond preferentially to umami (glutamate), in the same way that others respond preferentially to sweet or salty tastes.

At the end of 2001, American scientists discovered evidence of the existence of an additional taste. This sixth dimension of taste is specific to fats. For years, it was thought that pure fats had no specific taste but served only as carriers for other flavours. Numerous studies now prove that some of the taste buds on the tongue are sensitive to fats.