umami en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /uˈmɑːmi/
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Japanese 旨味, うまみ (umami), from 旨い (umai, “delicious”) + み (-mi, “-ness”), which describes the quality of a pleasant, savory taste.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats.
A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.
2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, “The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel”, in Wired, archived from the original on 12 Jul 2018:I quickly realized that I have always been obsessed with umami; I just didn't know it. It's why a sprinkle of Parm on just about anything heightens that dish's flavor; it's why grilled smoky mushrooms taste so good. Umami is a deeply satisfying taste, and luckily for us, umami is everywhere—it's in tomatoes and soy sauce, fresh and dried mushrooms, aged cheese, nutritional yeast […]
2019, Raquel Pelzel, Umami Bomb: 75 Vegetarian Recipes That Explode with Flavor, Workman Publishing, →ISBN, page 2:Umami is the mysterious “fifth taste”—a flavour that has never seemed to fit into the existing categories of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. South-east Asian chefs have exploited it throughout history—it's an essential part of the taste of seaweed, among other things[…]
2000 January 28, Oliver Burkeman, “Things that make you go yum”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 30 May 2023:But we are, of course, sweaty, fleshy lady-animals – all fur and umami.
2011, Caitlin Moran, How to be a Woman:
Coordinates
sweetness · bitterness · saltiness · sourness
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
savoriness · meatiness · deliciousness · brothiness
Translations (37)
cs umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · de Umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ko 우마미 (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ru ума́ми (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · fi ruokaisuus (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · fi lihaisuus (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · sq ngjelmë (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ms umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · km អ៊ុំម៉ាមី (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ja 旨味 (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · nl umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · th อูมามิ (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · nn umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ms gurih (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ar أُومَامِي (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · nl hartig (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · it umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · id gurih (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · da umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · hu umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · id umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · el ουμάμι (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · fr umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · fi umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · nb umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · es umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · bg умами (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · sv umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · cmn 鮮味 /鲜味 (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · eo umamo (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · tr umami (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · yue 鮮味 /鲜味 (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · vi ngọt thịt (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ko 감칠맛 (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · th รสอูมามิ (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · ms berlauk (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness) · uk ума́мі (one of the five basic tastes, savoriness)