Umami!

[javasaurus]

Umami. No, it's not a Jawa battle cry. It's the semi-official name of the new taste identified about a year ago.

So now there's sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami. Apparently, it means "yummy" in Japanese, but is often translated as "savory" in English. Certainly most of us know what salty means, or sour, as a taste. But what the heck is "savory"???

Scientifically, it's when L-glutamate receptors on the tongue are triggered. But what flavor is it?

According to this article, meat, cheese, asparagus, tomatoes all have a savory taste. But meat is also sweet, asparagus can be sweet or bitter, and tomatoes have some sweet and sour. Where does the savory come in?

Comments

[thatwasjen]

I would actually describe it as "tangy." The smoky flavor of ham or fish, rather than the salty flavor. (Very few foods contain a single flavor.)

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Don't think it's a "flavor", it really *is* more of a sense that a combination of tastes triggers. Interesting, though... as there are definitely some flavors that many (if not most) Japanese grow up thinking that they really *are* yummy that don't appeal to the western palette at all (me, I seem to have gotten too many of my mom's taste differences, rather than my father's... while a *few* things translate to me that don't to others I know, there are way more that my dad likes that I can't ever imagine being able to stomach... get past the tongue to the stomach, that is :-)

I'm betting that if you don't get a good definition, "Mistress Hemyngton" will be able to help out this weekend. "Savory" is also a "taste" that shows up a *lot* in Medieval/Renaissance period foods... I just don't know quite how to describe it, but if that's the translation, chances are that that's what its similar to, still (I know the taste sense, just can't describe it, or figure out which flavors/spices/herbs to point towards).

[sparowe]

The worst part is, after an article I read on it, I know exactly what they mean--but fail utterly at describing it.