Umami
Umami
The so called fifth taste sense.
Every now and then I feel I get a grasp of what it is but then cannot see the differance from it just being a well rounded savoury (salt) with some mouth feel thrown in.
Every now and then I feel I get a grasp of what it is but then cannot see the differance from it just being a well rounded savoury (salt) with some mouth feel thrown in.
If trees screamed when we cut them down, We wouldn't. If they screamed all the time we would.
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
Umami
Yes, it's a tricky one. I always think of it as the depth or meatiness of the dish - and I don't mean actual meat, when I use the term 'meatiness'.
Eg. Mushrooms can provide the depth/meatiness to a stock/sauce/meal.
I too, struggle with nailing down the exact taste of umami, but I get the concept I think...?
Rgds
Gary
Eg. Mushrooms can provide the depth/meatiness to a stock/sauce/meal.
I too, struggle with nailing down the exact taste of umami, but I get the concept I think...?
Rgds
Gary
Note that: Gary is posting on the Aussie BBQ Forum as: 'SmokeKingBBQs' (as a vendor) and 'beermee' (as a personal account)
Re: Umami
i always thought it was more of a texture than a taste. probably some pretentious smart arse decided that he would be a revolutionary coming up with a new "taste" when in essense all he has done is given a way to describe how gross a mushroom is.
Umami
Mate, I'm not going to stand for all this slagging of mushroom. It's not on, . You don't know what your missing out on!Zorba wrote:i always thought it was more of a texture than a taste. probably some pretentious smart arse decided that he would be a revolutionary coming up with a new "taste" when in essense all he has done is given a way to describe how gross a mushroom is.
Does umami have anything to do with the satisfaction of eating the food? By that I mean, the harder the meal to eat, the more satisfaction, e.g eating periwinkles you have to pick each one out with a toothpick, I always thought that had something to do with umami however that may be something else I am think of?
Nath
Nath
Re: Umami
What I do know is its what I crave most often.
Bit like spinage and Ricotta. By themselves their quite bland.
Mix them together and wrap in pastry / bake and you have a "Flavour"
Doing some reading on it basicly points to MSG, A natural ingreedient that mushrooms are full of.
Im thinking that responsible use of MSG aint such a bad thing.
Its had a bad wrap in Chinese food (Western Chinese food) But only because that food is so full of fat and sugar, people get stodged on it and blame the MSG
Bit like spinage and Ricotta. By themselves their quite bland.
Mix them together and wrap in pastry / bake and you have a "Flavour"
Doing some reading on it basicly points to MSG, A natural ingreedient that mushrooms are full of.
Im thinking that responsible use of MSG aint such a bad thing.
Its had a bad wrap in Chinese food (Western Chinese food) But only because that food is so full of fat and sugar, people get stodged on it and blame the MSG
If trees screamed when we cut them down, We wouldn't. If they screamed all the time we would.
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
Re: Umami
As I recall from my food History, the word is derived from the work of a Japanese professor working with glutamate at the turn of the 20th century, and who isolated and identified MSG I believe. I agree, to me, it is just another description for savory!
Burnt By The Best
Competition BBQ Team
Fresno State University
Go Dogs!
Competition BBQ Team
Fresno State University
Go Dogs!
Re: Umami
Correct. not may people realise that MSG is relatively new and was developed in Japan. It definately is not traditional chinese.Bentley wrote:As I recall from my food History, the word is derived from the work of a Japanese professor working with glutamate at the turn of the 20th century, and who isolated and identified MSG I believe. I agree, to me, it is just another description for savory!
yeah glutamates occour naturally in lots of food. Soy sauce, asian fish sauce, even vegemite.Smokey Mick wrote:What I do know is its what I crave most often.
Bit like spinage and Ricotta. By themselves their quite bland.
Mix them together and wrap in pastry / bake and you have a "Flavour"
Doing some reading on it basicly points to MSG, A natural ingreedient that mushrooms are full of.
Im thinking that responsible use of MSG aint such a bad thing.
Its had a bad wrap in Chinese food (Western Chinese food) But only because that food is so full of fat and sugar, people get stodged on it and blame the MSG
MSG does deserve its bad wrap though. It is what is called an exitotoxin and one of the things it does is stimulate insulin to be released into the bloodstream. Once released insulin must do it's thing and that is give sugars to celss for energy or if no cells want the energy it is stored as fat. if there is more insulin than required this leads to low blood sugars, which will then make you hungry.
so you can see how this cause weight gain, and why sometimes you feel hungry after eating a crap load of chinese food.
I think it is singapore which has banned its use in school lunches because of its role in obesity.
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Re: Umami
Hi Mick,
I started writing an article on Umami for Storyque a few weeks back, not the easiest thing to desribe, I'm still strugling with it.!
Our first taste of Umami comes in Mothers Milk along with our first taste of sweet, salty and sour! In fact it is "Bitter" that is missing from our first taste experience. Umami is a flavour rollercoaster, not just a taste, an experience! Glutamate receptors on the tongue pick up Umami it is naturally found in foods, such as soy sauce and fish sauce, parmesan cheese, anchovies and ripe tomatoes. It is also abundant in seafood, such as lobster, crabs, and shrimp.
So, what does all this mean to BBQ? Well, in our limited vocabulary, Umami is best described as a “Meaty” or “Mushroomy” taste, so Umami is BBQ!
In BBQ we strive for an intense Umami taste, we try to avoid Sour and Bitter, but Sweet and Salty are occasional allies, but Umami is the Star! Umami is defiantly something you want in your BBQ, that wisp of smoke spice, the haunting indescribable sensations provided by the Maillard reaction (the caramelisation on grilled meat) and a thousand other things.
Cheers
Chris
I started writing an article on Umami for Storyque a few weeks back, not the easiest thing to desribe, I'm still strugling with it.!
Our first taste of Umami comes in Mothers Milk along with our first taste of sweet, salty and sour! In fact it is "Bitter" that is missing from our first taste experience. Umami is a flavour rollercoaster, not just a taste, an experience! Glutamate receptors on the tongue pick up Umami it is naturally found in foods, such as soy sauce and fish sauce, parmesan cheese, anchovies and ripe tomatoes. It is also abundant in seafood, such as lobster, crabs, and shrimp.
So, what does all this mean to BBQ? Well, in our limited vocabulary, Umami is best described as a “Meaty” or “Mushroomy” taste, so Umami is BBQ!
In BBQ we strive for an intense Umami taste, we try to avoid Sour and Bitter, but Sweet and Salty are occasional allies, but Umami is the Star! Umami is defiantly something you want in your BBQ, that wisp of smoke spice, the haunting indescribable sensations provided by the Maillard reaction (the caramelisation on grilled meat) and a thousand other things.
Cheers
Chris
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!
Re: Umami
Interesting.
I just got back from coles armed with gravy beef, bonox, pearl barley, Mushrooms and other vege.
Time to drag out the potje.
All this talk has got me craving umami
I just got back from coles armed with gravy beef, bonox, pearl barley, Mushrooms and other vege.
Time to drag out the potje.
All this talk has got me craving umami
If trees screamed when we cut them down, We wouldn't. If they screamed all the time we would.
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
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Re: Umami
MSG can be bought at any Asian grocery store comes in 250g and 500 g bags its white powder
Re: Umami
O2zi3 wrote:umami is MSG....nothing wrong with that, except i cant find where to buy it...its integral to KFC recipe....who doesnt love KFC? (if u dont, then what u doing on BBQ forum?)
Probably more interested in REAL food ?
MSG is a very controversial thing, probably a part of the umami aspect but if that is the case then it becomes controversial because the other taste sensations do not have negative affects on people that I am aware of.
I have WAY too many friends who unknowingly exposed to MSG are blown off their feet to doubt that side-effect - it does not affect me but those prone to migraines need to stay well away from it.
Cheers
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Re: Umami
MSG is only one form of Glutimate, Umami describes the taste of glutimates. Glutimates are found in a number of foods throughout history (Before MSG) including back to the Romans who had a fermented anchovy "Sauce".O2zi3 wrote:umami is MSG....nothing wrong with that, except i cant find where to buy it...its integral to KFC recipe....who doesnt love KFC? (if u dont, then what u doing on BBQ forum?)
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!