Understand the ‘essence of deliciousness’ and you could learn how to manipulate the umami taste of food to improve what you eat.
Umami, also known as monosodium glutamate, is one of the five core human tastes. But it’s a relatively new concept for much of the western world, having only been scientifically accepted as a taste in 2002.
A research fellow at Institute for Molecular Bioscience, tells SBS that umami is often described as a ‘savoury’ or ‘meaty’ flavour to help people to understand how the fifth taste may be perceived.
That's because umami is a taste imparted by a number of substances, mostly the amino acid glutamate (glutamic acid) found in . Foods like seaweed, kimchi, aged cheeses (generally, the more aged a cheese is the more glutamate it contains), green tea, poultry, bonito fish, sardines, eggs, Vegemite and Marmite are all rich in glutamate.
“The main effect of umami is that it enhances the flavour of a food and increases its palatability,” says Dr Hwang. “This, in turn, increases its consumption.”
Once we taste umami, we secrete saliva and digestive juices to digest the proteins. The result of eating umami-rich foods, for some people, is that they may want to eat more.
The main effect of umami is that it enhances the flavour of a food and increases its palatability.
Need to eat? Taste umami
Japanese researchers from Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, Japan, looked at the impact of umami on appetite in the elderly found that adding MSG to food to impart an umami taste was important for elderly people with a poor appetite and unhealthy weight loss.
“Umami can have beneficial effects on individuals who have poor nutrition due to low food intake, particularly elderly people or those with decreased taste perception,” comments Dr Hwang, explaining the small-scale study.
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Consuming foods that taste naturally umami may also be of benefit when you’re battling an illness like the flu. “When you are sick with a cold or flu, you will usually have decreased sensory perception and food tastes bland.
“But umami-tasting foods have an enhanced flavour. The taste will wake up your sensory perception and make you more likely to finish a dish.”
Dr Hwang says this could be why we want to eat chicken soup when we have the flu. “The broth made from chicken bones and chicken meat provides a delicious umami flavour that you can still taste even if you have the flu."
Adding ingredients with a umami taste to a dish can enhance the underlying sweet and salty flavours, so you don't need to add that much sugar and salt."
Umami equals flavour
As glutamate increases saliva secretion more than other tastes do, umami-rich foods may help some people to produce more saliva. This may benefit those who experience a because of a health condition (Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, diabetes or a yeast infection). More saliva could improve the quantity of food a person is able to eat.
“It's important to note that saliva also plays an important role in the oral immune system. It contains enzymes and antibodies that inhibit bacteria growth and prevent inflammation.”
Dr Hwang offers another benefit of umami taste: cooks can add foods with naturally occurring umami to a dish that they know may be bland to improve the flavour.
“Glutamate is available in many natural products, such as fish, seaweeds, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Adding ingredients with an umami taste to a dish can enhance the underlying sweet and salty flavours, so you don't need to add that much sugar and salt.”
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All in moderation, including umami
Accredited Practising Dietitian, Brenda Tay, also notes that umami foods may promote obesity if they induce people to overeat food that’s not healthy.
“It's important to remember that not all the umami foods are healthy,” says Tay from “Processed meats like bacon and salami have an umami taste but these foods are not necessary to have in our diet.”
Tay urges people to remember that the key to good health is to aim for a balanced diet.
“The health benefits you get from eating foods that taste umami will depend on the foods being eaten and the overall diet of the person. Try to look at consuming foods with umami flavours that are good for you, like shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, kimchi and seaweed.”
