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The first time I heard the expression `Umami` was in 2010 – Chef David Kinch was addressing a packed house at Terroir IV (a symposium primarily for te food industry that we`ve attended for the last 2 years).  It`s a Japanese word that describes the `5th` taste (in addition to sweet, bitter, sour and salty).  While most now accept that it is a unique taste, debates were common in the last 10 years as to whether umami was an independent taste – most now agree that it is and that there may be more unique tastes we can detect but we haven`t identified them yet.

And of course the traditional `map of the tongue`was thrown out too (something I learned this year).

The translation of `umami` varies widely.  I`ve heard it most commonly referred to as `savory` while I`ve also seen references to salty + savory and even glutamate.   MSG is packed with umami – some arguing that it is the only true representation of umami.  There`s some interesting arguments starting to appear in defence of MSG but that is an entire series of posts unto their own…

Examples of Umami-rich foods include:

• Tomatoes (and sauce)
• Aged food (i.e. cheese)
• fermented food
• Lobster
• Ketchup
• Soy sauce
• Seafood
• Sweet Potatoes
• Fish Sauce
• Mushrooms
• Vinegar, especially aged balsamic and ume boshi

For most of the rest of the year (and perhaps a bit into the next), I’m going to share reflections of the last year and what I’ve learned in the kitchen.  Sometimes daily posts miss the flavor of the larger lessons so this is an attempt to take a step back and share the lessons that I’ve taken from the last 365 days.  We’d love to know what you’ve learned this year too!

In short, Umami-rich foods are pretty much my all-time favourites.  For years I thought I needed warm food and hot lunches to be saited – I`ve come to learn that what I really crave is umami and that I can reach greater satisfaction on fewer calories (if desired) by exploiting this taste.

Chef Kinch went one step further at Terroir V this year, stating, `We examine every dish to check for the presence of umami – if it`s not there, we find a way to incorporate it.`  I`ve adopted a similar approach and while I don`t add it 100% of the time, the percentage is extremely high.

How do you incorporate umami into your cooking?  Is it something important or an afterthought?  What`s your favorite flavor (i.e. sweet, salty, sour, bitter or umami)?