umami

[ oo-mah-mee ]

noun

1. a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids: often considered to be one of the basic taste sensations along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Word History and Origins

Origin of umami¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from Japanese: literally, “savory quality, delicious taste,” equivalent to uma-, the inflectional stem of umai “(to be) delicious” + -mi, a suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives

Example Sentences

Although the texture is essential, meat also has a distinctive savory and umami flavor.

From Salon

They put it in what looks like a coffee filter with this broth that has so much umami.

From New York Times

“Protein is broken down into amino acids during fermentation and we recognize these amino acids as umami,” he said.

From Salon

Prior to cooking professionally, Chan studied philosophy and the theory of languages at Princeton University, and through his culinary career has identified points where academia and food intersect, including through a collaboration with the Umami Information Center in Tokyo.

From Salon

There is seasonal vegetables, seasonal fish, seasonal meat and two different types of aging, fish and meat, with citrus-y, bitter, salty, umami, spicy and sour flavors.

From Salon