Send this article to someone who has recently cooked you dinner to ensure you’re never invited over again.
Umami is primarily the name given to our palate’s perception of glutamate, a naturally occurring amino acid, and nucleotides inosinate and guanylate – we did mention ‘science’ in the title. All are found in meat, fungi, cheeses, and plants. Often described as the fifth flavour, umami is more subtle than its counterparts, contributing to a food’s depth of flavour and leaving a long-lasting, savoury, mouth-watering sensation on the palate.
To understand it, compare tasting a quarter teaspoon of salt to a quarter teaspoon of Marmite. Umami is markedly different. It contributes to the Marmite’s rounded, rich depth of flavour, instead of just the salty kick. In itself, umami isn’t salty but is highly associated with salty foods and is greatly enhanced by salt.
If you’re not familiar with it, you’ve almost definitely eaten and cooked with it. Umami is particularly high in cured meats, seaweed, fermented foods, and aged cheeses like pecorino or parmesan. Now, it’s worth noting that to increase the flavour of your cooking, we’re not advocating for lashings of parmesan on every meal – although truthfully, that doesn’t sound like a bad time.
The following is how to incorporate this fifth flavour into your food and increase the irresistibility of your cooking. And, if you are here because a recent dinner guest has sent this to you, take the not-so-subtle hint graciously and read on.
Fat for flavour
Before delving into some flavour boosting hacks, it is worth noting the fat-trick. While fats themselves don’t have particularly bold tastes, they do play a crucial role in increasing the prominence of the five flavours. Fat molecules carry tastes and smells, allowing them to be released slowly as you chew, making a dish richer and more complex. Fats also perform brilliantly under high heat and encourage flavourful reactions like caramelisation and the Maillard reaction (browning) – both, consequentially, are responsible for umami.
One of the reasons restaurant food tastes so good – other than the glaringly obvious fact that a skilled professional is making it for you – is because it tends to contain higher amounts of fat. There’s a reason we can’t eat in restaurants all the time but appreciate it as a delicious treat when we get to.
Umami flavour boosters
Tomato water. Tomatoes are highly concentrated in glutamate. To extract it, simply blend some with salt and strain the mix with cheese cloth overnight in your fridge. You can then reduce the water and add it to glazes, vinaigrettes, sauces, marinades, and more. You can also keep the pulp, dry it in your oven, then blend it for an umami rich seasoning.
Powdered Monosodium Glutamate. This one feels like a bit of a cheat, but having an MSG blend in your pantry will make a world of difference. It’s a great one to experiment with – try adding it to marinades or make it part of your salt blend when seasoning a steak.
Dried mushrooms. A way to add an earthy and lavishly umami depth to sauces, broths, or show-stopper gravies. They can also be powdered and added to seasoning blends.
Parmesan, pecorino, or any aged cheeses. Certainly the best known of the Umami Flavour Boosters – a group that is frankly begging for matching t-shirts. Try adding not as a finishing touch (burying all your hard work and presentation), but during the cooking process. Once you’re done with them, drop the rinds into your slow-cooked sauces and they’ll imbibe them with beautiful umami flavour.
Finally, brining. It’s a clever technique used to prepare an ingredient – usually chicken but works well with cabbage and fennel – before roasting or searing. Final tip: think about incorporating your leftover caper or olive brine into your sauces for added depth. We haven’t the time nor word count to go into a full how-to, but watch this space.