MUSHROOMS AND UMAMI, THE FIFTH BASIC TASTE SENSATION
Professional chefs and mushroom lovers know how much mushrooms can add to the sensory appeal of dishes by expanding, blending and balancing the flavors of other ingredients. It is only recently that we have come to understand scientifically why mushrooms are indeed so savory and appealing.
Most Westerners are well aware of the basic taste sensations of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. They are not so well acquainted with umami, the hard to define fifth taste sensation. Umami has been variously described as savory, brothy, “toothsome”, “deliciousness” and meaty. The taste of umami is multidimensional and foods with umami tend to taste rich, deep, robust and satisfying. Umami was first described and characterized by Dr. Ikeda at Tokyo Imperial University in 1908. He discovered that glutamate is the main active ingredient of the umami taste. Mushrooms, vine- ripened tomatoes, aged cheeses, anchovy, kelp and soy sauce are foods that contain high levels of the components that contribute to the umami taste sensation.
For many years, scientists and skeptics have disagreed as to whether umami is indeed a fifth primary taste. By definition, a primary taste cannot be produced by a combination of other tastes. The arguments were put to rest when it was discovered that umami substances activate specific taste bud receptors on the tongue which produce electrical nerve impulses that the brain registers as taste.
Umami is a complex, subtle taste that involves other substance besides the first identified glutamate component. Foods taste umami when they contain a variety of free amino acids and ribonucleotides that work synergistically with natural free glutamates to heighten the umami taste. Mushrooms contain high levels of these compounds and rank high on the umami scale.
It is perhaps easier to describe umami by its absense. Foods that lack umami are shallow-tasting, insipid, boring, and unfulfilling. David Kaspian, author of “The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami” says “what it (umami) does for food is to heighten the impact of flavor and other ingredients- both salty and sweet – softens sour, masks bitter, extends finish, improves palatability, contributes to mouthfeel, triggers salivations, creates the sense of well-being and may even be an aphrodisiac.” So, don’t forget to incorporate mushrooms frequently into your cooking, they will transform a mundane meal into memorable cuisine!
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