"umami flavored paste" news and stories

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.