Monosodium glutamate - Japanese taste investigation

A Japanese researcher sought a new basic taste sensation other than the already-well-known salty, sweet, sour, and bitter identified in western culture (Indian, Chinese and Japanese had 5 or 6 named basic taste senses, e.g., "spicy"). The new fifth taste was named: umami.

Umami, a Japanese word roughly meaning "savoriness", was narrowed to the taste sensations of particular naturally occurring amino acid-derived compounds, such as glutamate, typically found in aged or fermented foods, such as cheeses, and fish paste. Two other nucleotide-derived compounds are also contributors to umami: inosinate and guanate.

The glutamate binds to certain G protein coupled glutamate receptors [wikipedia.org: taste].

Therefore, when listening to judges in various cooking contests, such as Iron Chef, the term "taste character" and "combination of tastes" includes the five basic tastes in various proportions, particularly including various proportions of the three umami-contributing ingredients: glutamate, inosinate, and guanate.

Recently, in 2000, French researchers have apparently identified a fat receptor in the taste buds of the tongue corresponding to a "fat taste".

Francis Lorin
siberkhem.com