When it comes to flavor, umami is the shady character hiding in the dark corner. While the other tastes — sweet, salty, sour and bitter — all have an easily identified punch that’s delivered upfront, umami prefers subtlety and nuance. It is the mystery man of flavor profiles, adding a richness and depth that can only be summed up as je ne sais quoi .
Umami plays a big role in many traditional dishes, although we haven’t known it until very recently. Our ancestors only knew that it tasted good. In traditional Asian dishes, the addition of seaweed, fermented vegetables and fish sauce are examples of umami at work. Closer to home, our love of cheeseburgers and spaghetti with meat sauce are likely due to the umami synergy created when two different types of umami foods are combined: cheese and meat in the burger and tomatoes and meat in the spaghetti.
Foods that offer an umami taste include aged beef, mushrooms, tomatoes, fermented soy, Parmesan cheese, shellfish and seaweed. The flavor intensifies as foods are aged, dried, cured, fermented, roasted or toasted. For example, dried mushrooms that are rehydrated in cold water create a more intense umami flavor than fresh mushrooms, due to a chemical breakdown happening during the drying process.
Research into umami has exploded recently, after scientists officially accepted it as the fifth taste that humans can sense. The body of evidence so far has indicated that this flavor can be used strategically to help us eat a healthier diet overall and enjoy our food more. Here are three reasons to start adding a little more umami to your diet:
1. Umami makes healthy dishes taste decadent. A diet that is lower in sodium and saturated fat is recommended for many people to reduce the risk of hypertension and heart disease. But a low-salt and low-fat diet is notoriously hard to follow, likely due to taste — food ends up being bland and dull. However, the strategic use of umami ingredients can help with this. In a study published last year in the Journal of Food Science, researchers replaced some of the beef with mushrooms in carne asada and beef tacos. They found that the added mushrooms created an equally pleasing flavor when compared to the original recipes, but allowed for the use of less salt and saturated fat.
2. Umami increases enjoyment of food. Lack of appetite can be problematic in some populations, particular in the elderly or chronically sick. When food doesn’t taste as good, intake decreases and health can spiral downward due to malnutrition. Researchers in Japan gave elderly patients who were losing weight due to loss of appetite a type of tea made from dry kelp before meals. They found that the added umami flavor served to increase their appetite and helped them regain some enjoyment in food.
3. Umami allows us to be satisfied with less food. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2014, researchers were able to demonstrate that a combination of umami tastes, like when MSG is added to meat dishes, caused a unique spike in appetite during a meal but then a dip in appetite later, resulting in study participants eating less food overall during the day. The participants enjoyed their food more and were able to stay satisfied for longer after eating. Similarly, a study published last year in the journal Appetite found that adding umami flavor to low-calorie broth helped middle-aged women eat less overall calories and few fatty and sugary snacks later in the day.
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3 Reasons to Get a Little More Umami in Your Diet originally appeared on usnews.com
