Practicalities from Culinology®: How Umami Can Contribute to Culinary Arts and Sciences

This chapter focuses on umami from a practical gustatory and culinary standpoint. The overall objective of this chapter is to apply the science of umami to daily culinary preparation. It focuses on the umami experience and the traditional role that umami plays in foods loved around the globe. Informed by culinary science, the field at the intersection of culinary arts and food science, this chapter is about the intentional incorporation of umami to create balanced dishes. Umami may be introduced from foods intrinsically rich in umami, foods manipulated by further processing to further develop umami (e.g., fermentation), or the addition of MSG (monosodium glutamate), the purest form of umami available to everyday cooks. This chapter addresses benefits of umami in cooking, which include to aid in salt reduction, to provide a bass note for flavor, to increase salivation, and to aid in perception of meatiness. The benefits of umami make it an attractive option to improve both health and flavor.