12 Dec The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami
by David and Anna Kasabian
There are some foods that inherently evoke a unique and irreplaceable experience; we taste one tomato soup and are humbly content, while another sets off fireworks in our mouths. For tasters seeking answers to such causes, modern science catches up with thousands of years of culinary tradition and provides a rational explanation for those irresistible tastes. In The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami
What is umami, anyway? The modern view, at least among many chefs and food scientists, is that umami qualifies as an official taste alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Umami is a taste that is sometimes more difficult to detect and describe, however, and it is exactly this delicacy that makes it all the more mysterious and captivating. It is that rich, savory, satisfying taste found in mushrooms, meat, aged cheeses and red wine, among other flavors — pretty much all the good stuff!
Researchers have zeroed in on an umami taste bud that sends electrical signals to the brain when stimulated. Prior to elaborate research, however, umami was used to describe foods that were really enjoyed or when a certain recipe was thought to have reached the perfect state. In Japanese, umai means delicious and mi means essence, so the aesthetic notion was there, but for a long time, there was not a veritable explanation; people simply knew something good was going on in their mouths.
The Kasabians’ new book provides a concise history of umami, including a primer on taste versus flavor, an evolutionary explanation for umami, a chemical analysis and a short history of umami from pre-conception to contemporary sensory research. This all comes in the initial chapter in 14 breezy pages.
The second section showcases a list of umami-rich foods as well as methods that help maximize umami taste. There are a few sidebars that have tasting demonstrations to give you a better understanding of what umami tastes like, and the effects it can have on other elements of taste.
In much the same way salt can bring out sweet, and creamy butter can make even Wonder Bread seem good, umami rich foods can heighten sweet and salty, while taming sour and bitter. Umami can also have a dramatic impact on both mouth feel (texture of the food), as well as finish (stamina on the palate). Good food that lasts longer — sounds delicious.
Umami’s presence really comes alive in recipes that are shared later in the book, and with over sixty recipes from many well-known chefs (including the author), there is a strong cross-cultural display of umami. While often thought of as a more “Eastern” concept, the Kasabians show umami to be present in many diverse and interesting cooking styles, from the making of dashi (a traditional Japanese stock), to short ribs braised in red wine, to every kids’ dream meal of French fries and ketchup.
In addition to the wide array of traditions, the recipes themselves are interesting and inspiring: Daniel Boulud’s elegant simplicity is captured with his sea scallops with mashed potatoes and red onion confit. Norman Van Aken’s New World fusion is displayed with his deep-fried sushi with wasabi miso. Anthony Uglesich’s sweet and tangy oyster shooters sound so good they could be considered foreplay; and Lydia Shire’s crispy blue cheese stuffed shrimp, passed down from her father and served at family gatherings, could become a new-found tradition for many. The book is valuable just for the recipes, which also conveniently have a brief explanation of the umami components as well as boldface type for the ingredients that contribute significantly to the experience of umami.
David and Anna Kasabian are the first authors to explore umami in such a broad and cohesive manner. The Fifth Taste is a well-written book that explores a newly popular and interesting subject, and is paired with well-complimented recipes. It is sure to be an important contribution to the growing use and understanding of umami throughout Western gastronomy.
Review by Brian Siembor