Umami

Have you heard of it?  It's supposed to be the 5th flavor after sweet, salt, bitter and sour.  Newly discovered and it's supposed to make everything better tasting:
 
http://www.dailymail.co.u...oking-fifth-taste.html

I've heard of it, and I say it's bull!

I didn't see that listed on the ingredients.  

I would just use MSG. (not really!)
 
David O.
 
 

Oh, I do believe Kikkoman lists it.

Sooo long story made short if I get this right I think. The taste of the tube contents itself is Umami that's added to existing food. Add MSG to a dish and you taste umami, but the taste of MSG is not umami, it brings out the umami of the existing dish. Bottom line, your tongue and stomach sense natural occuring glutamates.
 
Anyone else can make better sense of this? 

Ming Tsai's been mentioning the concept of umami in "Simply Ming" episodes for several years but I've never heard him refer to it as an ingredient.
 
Brad

Ming Tsai's been mentioning the concept of umami in "Simply Ming" episodes for several years but I've never heard him refer to it as an ingredient.
 
Brad

The flavor or something occurs naturally in things like anchovies and mushrooms.  Somehow a company mixed a bunch of the ingredients together and sell it in toothpaste tubes.

I don't believe it is an actual "ingredient." It is more of a mouthfeel sensation, something that gives you a silkiness within your mouth as you eat. I used to work for Mitsubishi Food Ingredients and it was a topic that came up repeatedly. It is an unmeasureable quality in some foods. Some have suggested that some mushrooms have an umami characteristic. Or perhaps wagyu beef as opposed to regular. Or perhaps foie gras or some gelato compared to ice cream. More mouthfeel if that makes sense. Perhaps like Ghiradelli chocolate compared to dollar store Easter eggs. I hope I am describing this correctly.

It is more of a sense than ingredient.

Great. I'll have a hamburger, medium rare, with a touch of sense.

Windtem01's description is just as I always thought of umami -  a sense, or mouth feel that doesn't fall into the other four senses. 

MIchael, why start having some now? 
 J/K. Just too good to pass up.
* edited to avoid misunderstandings*

Sounds like what you're describing is the way you feel when you eat raw oysters. Kinda Euphoric!!!

So that wouldn't be a bad thing?

From the Umami Information website:
 
Glutamate is naturally present in most foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. Two kinds of nucleotides that contribute most to the Umami taste, inosinate and guanylate, are also present in many foods. Inosinate is found primarily in meat, whereas guanylate is more abundant in plants. Another nucleotide, adenylate, is abundant in fish and shellfish. 
 
They have a list of umami-rich foods, along with other info, on their website if interested. www.umamiinfo.com

Foodbme


Sounds like what you're describing is the way you feel when you eat raw oysters. Kinda Euphoric!!!

The way I've always felt when attempting to eat raw oysters is nauseated.

Michael Hoffman

Foodbme


Sounds like what you're describing is the way you feel when you eat raw oysters. Kinda Euphoric!!!

The way I've always felt when attempting to eat raw oysters is nauseated.

Why am I not Surprised?

Hey, I've tried. I love raw clams, and I love oysters that are cooked. But every time I've ever tried to swallow a raw oyster it just comes shooting back up.

Michael Hoffman


Hey, I've tried. I love raw clams, and I love oysters that are cooked. But every time I've ever tried to swallow a raw oyster it just comes shooting back up.

Have you tried covering it with a cocktail sauce and putting it on a Saltine? That gives it some texture and flavor.

Along with MSG, soy sauce will also bring out the umami in dishes. I use a little MSG from time to time, especially when I am cooking Chinese food. I swear that the Chinese places that claim "no MSG" use MSG because it is easy to tell if the food has it or not. I prefer with MSG because it does bring out the flavor in foods. I think MSG got a bad rap from some Chinese places using waaaay too much of it to try and cover cheap ingredients.
 
-Trent (better eating through science)

Foodbme

Michael Hoffman


Hey, I've tried. I love raw clams, and I love oysters that are cooked. But every time I've ever tried to swallow a raw oyster it just comes shooting back up.

Have you tried covering it with a cocktail sauce and putting it on a Saltine? That gives it some texture and flavor.

Hot sauce, cocktail sauce, lemon juice, pepper sauce -- never on a Saltine. I think it might be sort of difficult to swallow a whole Saltine.

Michael Hoffman


Hot sauce, cocktail sauce, lemon juice, pepper sauce -- never on a Saltine. I think it might be sort of difficult to swallow a whole Saltine.

Hey Mikey, I like raw clams too. Oysters are great when they are served cold with a dash of tabasco and lemon. Give it a try, although I think the serving temperature is more important than what is on it. Room temperature raw clams are pretty nasty. I think that it has more to do with "am I going to get ill eating room temperature raw seafood?" than "this tastes bad".
 
-Trent
 
 

Ah, shades of Doc Upchuck, he of the phony doctorate. Someone else -- maybe -- who apparently isn't capable of using a person's actual name.
 
GOTCHA!

Michael Hoffman


Ah, shades of Doc Upchuck, he of the phony doctorate. Someone else -- maybe -- who apparently isn't capable of using a person's actual name.

GOTCHA!

????? You OK Mikey?

I see you intend to continue to address me in your ill-mannered way.
 
Hint: My name is Michael Hoffman. I do not know anyone by the name you are now using. But I do find it interesting that you are attempting to kill another thread.

Michael Hoffman


I see you intend to continue to address me in your ill-mannered way.

Hint: My name is Michael Hoffman. I do not know anyone by the name you are now using. But I do find it interesting that you are attempting to kill another thread.

Actually, I was extending an olive branch. But I guess you continue to think I am someone that I am not. Carry on...........
 
 

Just received this recipe for an (a?) umami type spread.
 
There isn't a mushroom in it.
 
  http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2011/05/05/umami-butter-your-fridge-is-your-friend/#more-6500
 
Anyone want to convert the measurements for me?