Umami

Umami is a basic taste associated chiefly with glutamate and enhanced by certain nucleotides. It is commonly described as savory, brothy, or meaty.

T1R1/T1R3: A taste receptor heterodimer that detects amino acids, including glutamate, in humans. It is one of the principal receptor systems through which glutamate produces umami.
Basic taste: A taste quality identified through distinct sensory mechanisms rather than smell or texture. Umami is classified alongside four other basic taste qualities.
Monosodium glutamate: The sodium salt of glutamic acid, used as a flavor enhancer in food. It supplies readily available glutamate to increase umami in prepared foods.
Kikunae Ikeda: A Japanese chemist who identified glutamate as the source of kombu broth's distinctive taste. His investigation established glutamate as the chemical basis of umami.
Sweetness: A basic taste commonly associated with sugars and some other sweet-tasting compounds. Sweetness signals a different taste quality from umami's savory character.
mGluR4: A metabotropic glutamate receptor with variants expressed in taste tissue. Taste-cell forms of this receptor have been proposed as another route for glutamate detection.
Glutamate: An amino acid and neurotransmitter that occurs naturally in foods and proteins. Free glutamate is the main food compound responsible for umami.
Dashi: A Japanese stock commonly made by steeping kombu seaweed and dried fish. Kombu contributes glutamate while dried fish contributes nucleotides, creating strong synergy.
Ajinomoto: A Japanese food company founded to commercialize glutamate-based seasoning. Ikeda's discovery led to the development and sale of monosodium glutamate under this brand.
Saltiness: A basic taste produced chiefly by sodium ions and other salts. Saltiness comes from ionic compounds, whereas umami is associated chiefly with amino acids.

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