While sweet, salty, sour and bitter are well-known, umami—the "fifth taste"—is gaining attention in the culinary world. Discovered over a century ago, umami, meaning "savory" in Japanese, has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, with chefs globally exploring and incorporating it into their dishes. Umami adds depth and richness to food without being overpowering, often "lifting" flavors and balancing a dish.
Identified in 1908 by a Japanese chemist while making dashi (a broth made from seaweed), umami is detected by receptors on the tongue and interpreted by the brain as a savory, pleasant taste. The chemist also discovered the compound behind umami, leading to the creation of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a widely used flavor enhancer.
Common umami-rich foods include aged cheeses like Parmesan, anchovies, soy sauce, mushrooms and tomatoes. Techniques like fermentation and aging also enhance umami flavors. Chef Moti Titman of Milgo & Milbar notes that the goal of many chefs is to create a dish so flavorful that diners crave more. His croquette, featuring a rich blend of béchamel, Parmesan and cream, leaves customers asking for seconds.
Chef Hillel Tavakoli agrees that fermentation has brought umami back into focus in recent years. He hosted an umami-themed dinner with Japanese cuisine rising star Meidan Siboni, part of a series of umami-focused events across Israel. These special meals, organized in partnership with whisky brand Johnnie Walker, feature dishes that emphasize umami, such as a gyoza dish elevated with dashi, yuzu and seaweed-infused Parmesan oil.
Ultimately, umami is about depth of flavor, explains Tavakoli. "It's the taste that makes you want more, much like how spiciness can also be addictive."
Racism on a plate
Chef Yuval Ben Neriah's Japanese restaurant, "a," is a tribute to umami, the fifth taste, with every bite offering a sensory journey. Central to the restaurant’s philosophy is fermentation, a process that enhances umami by breaking down vegetables and other foods. "We have an entire fermentation room at the restaurant," Ben Neriah said. "In almost every dish, we try to incorporate fermentation to intensify the umami flavor as much as possible."
Ben Neriah notes that while the famed Noma restaurant in Copenhagen popularized fermentation, it’s now common in many top kitchens. At "a," the chef and his team cultivate molds on grains such as rice, freekeh, or buckwheat, each lending its unique flavor and aroma to dishes. These molds can be used to marinate meats and vegetables or added to stews to enhance umami depth.
"People have a natural craving for umami," Ben Neriah explained. "Our sense of taste is relatively limited—just five basic tastes compared to thousands of smells our nose can detect. Umami is linked to high-quality protein, as it comes from the breakdown of amino acids, which are essential for muscle building. Evolution has ensured we're addicted to it."
When asked about monosodium glutamate (MSG), Ben Neriah clarified misconceptions: "Shiitake mushrooms, for instance, have high umami levels. You can create umami through fermentation or by using MSG, which is a refined version of umami. The old belief that MSG causes headaches (the so-called 'Chinese restaurant syndrome') has been debunked as a form of racism against Chinese cuisine. In fact, American snacks like Cheetos contain more MSG than a typical Chinese dish."