If you think savoury, Japanese food is all there is to umami, think again! Umami is the fifth basic taste, joining sweet, sour, salty and bitter. It is the basic taste that our tongues can identify, triggered by specific molecules in food. “Umami is the taste of the amino acid glutamate, together with other molecules called inosinate and guanylate. Just like glucose for sweet or acetic acid for sour,” explains Ana San Gabriel, senior manager (Global Communication Department) at Ajinomoto, who was recently in the city for a talk on umami.
Dr Jamuna Prakash, food consultant and former professor at the University of Mysore, shares an Indian context to it, as she says, “What makes umami special is that on its own, it may register as just a subtle, savoury note. But its real power lies in its ability to enhance other flavours. Put tomatoes (a natural source of umami) in a curry and the entire flavour of the dish deepens.”
For decades, umami struggled to find its place alongside other basic tastes even though it has long been central to Japanese cooking, particularly through the delicate depth of dashi. Outside Japan, flavours were often layered with fats and spices, making umami harder to recognise in its purest form. Many taste researchers even dismissed it as a cultural construct rather than a distinct sensory experience. The turning point came only when scientific evidence caught up, as Gabriel shares, “The receptor for umami wasn’t discovered until 2000. We had to demonstrate scientifically that specific nerves respond to it, that the brain recognises it, and finally identify the receptor on the tongue. There is a receptor for every basic taste. Glutamate has its own, sweet has a receptor and salt has a channel that recognises sodium. Each opens a ‘window’ for its molecules.”
Indian cuisine, with its focus on layering spices rather than using soup bases, has long expressed umami. Fermented and dairy ingredients – pickles, curd and aged cheeses – add depth, while slow-cooked gravies – nihari, rogan josh and fish curries – extract glutamates from bones, meat and seafood. Lentils, mushrooms, jackfruits and caramelised onions or tomatoes create this flavour too. Chef Priyank of Yoichi says chefs build umami through cooking techniques too, revealing, “Roasting, aging, fermentation, reduction and pairing of ingredients make dishes rounded, satisfying and full-bodied. Umami helps create satisfying dishes with less salt or fat by enhancing mouthfeel.”
Japanese cuisine approaches umami differently. In East Asia, the ingredients themselves are of exceptional freshness, says Tetsuya Hattori, who recently hosted a pop-up at Shangri-La’s Yataii. “The focus is on bringing out the deliciousness of each ingredient. One of the most distinctive features of umami ingredients is their ability to dramatically enhance flavour when different sources of it are combined – this phenomenon is called the umami synergy effect,” says the chef. In Indian cooking, a generous amount of oil is often used to carry and intensify flavours, shares Hattori.
Umami and MSG
Beyond taste, umami has practical health benefits. Dr Prakash explains, “A pinch of natural or MSG-derived umami rounds flavours, so food can be lighter yet indulgent. For older adults, umami helps restore appetite and improve salivation, which is essential for swallowing and enjoying food.” Adding to it, Gabriel notes that even babies get about 150mg of glutamate per day from breast milk. “The small amount used in cooking is far below that. It doesn’t accumulate in the body, is water-soluble and metabolised efficiently.”
Is MSG safe?
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has long faced misconceptions, but science shows it is safe when used in small amounts. Dr Prakash shares her way of adding MSG to food: “I use 40mg in a curry, less than one-eighth of a teaspoon. Even if you eat MSG in five dishes in a day, it will not exceed safe levels.”