20 June 2002, Review of Umami Research published

A new review of research into umami, the fifth basic taste, was published this month in Food Reviews International. "Umami: A Universal Taste" charts the history of the understanding of taste and different perceptions of taste around the world. Umami was identified as a unique taste by Professor Ikeda in 1908 but it was only in 1985, at the first International Symposium on Umami in Hawaii, that it was recognised by scientists as one of the basic tastes along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

Ms Kumiko Ninomiya, the author of the paper, points out that although the identification of umami is relatively recent, "the taste has been with us for centuries in the stocks and sauces of Europe, the pizza of Italy, the broth of Japan, and the oyster sauce of China."

Umami is the taste of glutamate, a component of protein and the most abundant amino acid in nature. It is found in fish, meat, milk and many vegetables and is essential to human metabolism. Glutamate is found in a variety of foods renowned for their flavour enhancing properties including Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and Shiitake mushrooms. The drying of certain foods increases their glutamate content. For example, fresh shiitake mushrooms contain 71mg of glutamate per 100g, but when dried they contain 1,060mg of glutamate per 100g.

Glutamate is manufactured for use as a seasoning and is added to foods in the form of monosodium glutamate. Recent research has shown that, by increasing palatability, glutamate can help increase food enjoyment and nutrient intake of elderly people whose sense of taste may have diminished.

Food Reviews International is a journal for nutritionists, food scientists and technologists. It is published four times a year and contains contemporary reviews of food issues.

Umami: A universal taste, Kumiko Ninomiya, Food Reviews International, 18(1), 23-38 (2002)