umami

[oo-mah-mee]

noun

1. a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids: often considered to be one of the basic taste sensations along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Word History and Origins

Origin of umami¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from Japanese: literally, “savory quality, delicious taste,” equivalent to uma-, the inflectional stem of umai “(to be) delicious” + -mi, a suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives

Example Sentences

This step is crucial for developing the tea's signature "umami" flavour - a savoury taste that complements its natural sweetness.

From BBC

“The Nasty Bits” A collection of essays and stories from his travels, organized by taste — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami.

From Salon

Tomatoes bring acid and glutamates, the backbone of umami.

From Salon

Instead, it was pure umami: tomato distilled to its essence, clean and resonant and utterly structural.

From Salon

Ranch dressing is a sensory shortcut to pleasure: multiple alliums, acid, umami, herbs, suspended in a plush, mayo-forward cloud.

From Salon