THE FIFTH DIMENSION
WHILE MEDICAL SCIENCE recognizes four basic tastes—sweet, sour, bitter and salty—a fifth taste is known in many parts of the world. Some researchers believe the taste the Japanese call umami is universal, but largely ignored by Western science because there is no English word for it.
"The idea of four basic tastes came about long before people knew how tastes work," says Michael O'Mahony, professor of food science at the University of California at Davis. Convinced that inadequate descriptions have biased taste research, O'Mahony and research associate Rle Ishii traveled to Japan where umami is a commonly recognized taste.
Umami, most closely described as a meaty taste, has been traced to certain natural compounds found in sea kelp (kombu), dried bonito fish (katsuobushi) and shiitake mushrooms, foods commonly used in traditional Japanese cuisine.
The U.C. Davis researchers found that Japanese tasters are generally more adept than Americans at identifying both sweet and umami tastes. Once Americans learn about umami, however, they can easily recognize the distinctive taste. "Americans get the idea pretty quickly," O'Mahony said. "It's as though they've had the idea in their heads and just didn't have a name for
it."
Substances linked to umami are compounds of amino acids, the naturally occurring acids used by plants and animals to build proteins. American consumers are well acquainted with the flavor-enhancing property of at least one umami substance, monosodium glutamate (MSG). [NOTE: not recommended for use!]
In fact, the flavor-enhancing properties of umami were recognized long ago by the Japanese. Monell taste researcher Gary Beauchamp speculates that traditional Japanese dishes came to rely on certain ingredients because their meaty taste helps counterbalance low levels of protein in the diet. He believes humans may be attracted to the amino acid compounds associated with umami because they signal the presence of protein in foods, in much the same way as sweet taste signals the presence of carbohydrates.
The survival value of having a taste preference for protein is quite clear. Protein is essential to life but not stored in the body, and without an adequate supply we would soon perish. Further research may confirm our innate protein hunger—and perhaps lead to a meatier version of the King's English.
From: Eating Well magazine
A great healthy recipe resource: http://www.eatingwell.com/
