: the taste sensation that is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides (such as glutamate and aspartate) and has a rich or meaty flavor characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes : savoryentry 2 sense 2
Umami is often described as a meaty flavor and is particularly strong in aged or fermented products, like cheese and wine. Carla Ranicki
: being, inducing, or marked by one of the five basic taste sensations that is typically induced by several amino acids and nucleotides (such as glutamate and aspartate) and has a rich or meaty flavor characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes
A crab risotto made from local crabs is powerful with the big umami flavor of brown meat. Jay Rayner
A Japanese scientist was the first to discover the savory taste of the amino acid glutamic acid, which was found to occur in soup stocks made with seaweed. This fifth basic taste—alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter—was named umami, meaning "savoriness" in Japanese. Umami can be experienced in foods such as mushrooms, anchovies, and mature cheeses, as well as in foods enhanced with monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a sodium salt derived from glutamic acid.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Sweet caramelized onions and rich miso butter add loads of umami to the gruyere cheese in the sandwich. Anna Luisa Rodriguez, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2022 To make the dish even richer, be sure to use shiitake mushrooms; their earthy flavor will give this recipe a powerful punch of umami. Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Sep. 2022 On the other end of the texture spectrum is the isaw, or intestines: wrinkly whorls that give off a wild musk inextricable from the organ’s primal umami. Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2022 This is that cookie, bolstered with the salty umami of miso and misugaru, a Korean grain powder commonly mixed with water or milk to make a drink. Jenn Harriscolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2022 As a source of glutamates (that is, delicious, lip-smacking umami), its inclusion is actually quite logical. Sarah Jampel, Bon Appétit, 18 Mar. 2022 Japanese-style dashi pickles tie it in thematically and lend a welcome hit of umami and acid. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2022 Intense umami swirled with molasses-like sweetness. Janelle Bitker, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2022 The umami is what makes those ingredients delicious.San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2022 See More