Understanding Umami

Why Humans Seek Umami Umami is one of the five basic tastes, alongside sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, and sourness. Although the scientific concept of umami was formally proposed by the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908, the sensory experience itself has long been recognised in many cultures around the world. In France, the gastronome Brillat-Savarin referred…