Umami
Pronunciation: u-ma-mi Also known as: Herzhaft
The fifth basic taste besides sweet, sour, salty and bitter: savoury and rich, as from glutamate; of minor importance in drinks.
Umami is the basic taste described as savoury, meaty or hearty. It arises mainly from glutamic acid and nucleotides, which occur in tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, meat and soy sauce. Besides sweet, sour, salty and bitter it is the fifth recognised taste.
In drinks umami plays a smaller role but appears in tomato juice, broths, some beers, aged wines or sake. For food pairing it matters: umami-rich dishes can make bitterness and tannins in a drink stand out more strongly.
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