Texture: tsukemono - the art and science of preparing crunchy vegetables

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Umami is a basic taste that is elicited by the stimulation of umami receptors in the taste buds by the interaction with some free amino acids, in particular glutamate, often in synergy with free 5'-ribonucleotides such as inosinate, adenylate, and guanylate. Foods that are associated with strong umami taste are as common and diverse as matured and fermented cheeses, cured ham, sardine paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, sun ripe tomatoes, mushrooms, ketchup, etc. Umami was proposed as a basic taste based on an analysis of the components in the classical Japanese soup stock, dashi, which is made of an aqueous extract of a dried brown seaweed, konbu, and a highly processed fish product, katsuobushi. Umami as a basic taste was not immediately accepted, and it took almost 100 years after Ikeda’s discovery before it was commonly accepted among scientists. Fresh meat is a major source of umami, as it contains both glutamate and the nucleotides that create synergy.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCRC Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy: Scientific Foundations and Culinary Applications
EditorsRóisín Burke, Alan Kelly, Christophe Lavelle, Hervé This vo Kientza
Number of pages6
PublisherCRC Press
Publication date2021
Pages593-598
ISBN (Print)9781466594784
ISBN (Electronic)9780429168703
Publication statusPublished - 2021

ID: 221749757