Umami in a Tube Arrives in U.K. Grocery Stores

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Feb 9th 2010 @ 1:30PM

Americans are familiar with the four primary tastes we've known since childhood: sweet, salty, bitter and sour.

But the fifth taste -- the taste associated with savory things called umami -- has been less familiar. Umami is an earthy flavor foods get from amino acids in meats, some cheeses, fish and vegetables including mushrooms, ketchup, oysters, steak and sweet potatoes. It also gives food-additive MSG its allure.

Now home cooks in the U.K. looking to give their cuisine and umami kick can do it with the launch of a new food product called Taste No. 5, an umami-flavored paste, The Independent reported.

Two British supermarket chains -- Waitrose and Booths -- will both sell Taste No. 5, the first product marketed as an umami source, the paper reported.

Taste No. 5 was developed by Laura Santtini, who runs her family's Italian restaurant in London.

"I wanted to get away from the notion that umami is something of interest to scientists that no one else can really understand. The truth is that umami should be of interest to anyone who has a tongue," Santtini told The Independent.

"Umami is part of our everyday eating lives, it is just that many of us don't know what to call it. It is what gives depth of flavour to food. Every food culture has its umami-rich ingredients, whether it is seaweed in Japan or Parmesan in Italy."

Umami, named for the Japanese word for "taste" was first identified by Japanese scientists in 1908. In 2000, scientists at the University of Miami identified receptors on the tongue that suggest the body craves umami flavor because it indicates protein in meats and vegetables, the paper reported.

Other foods that have umami flavor include: anchovies, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce and Marmite.

Filed Under: New Products
Tags: umami, umami flavored paste, umami in a tube

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-09-2010 @2:43PM Nick S said... Not quite the first product to be marketed as a source of umami - Kikkoman soy sauce has been marketed as such for a little while now.
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2-09-2010 @4:58PM Rt said... Pardon me for being skeptical but this word seems suspiciously similar to 'yo mama'.

There are many spices considered savory - which flavor is this?
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2-10-2010 @8:51AM Dave said... You're suspicious of a concept because the word for it, a word from another language sounds kind of like a silly phrase in your language? Really?

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2-09-2010 @10:20PM Kassie said... Isn't MSG unami in a jar? This has been done for years already.
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2-10-2010 @9:02AM LinC said... So if we get umani taste from real foods, why would we buy fake umani in a tube? That's probably why I've never been a fan of MSG.
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2-10-2010 @9:11AM Rt said... Actually, 'ol Davie, I am suspicious because it seems like more of a marketing ploy than an original product.

Using a common Japanese word as a product name has no more significance than using a common Italian word for squid - except you get to charge more.
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