Umami gets called "the fifth taste," but that phrase alone doesn't explain much. Here's what it actually is, where it comes from, and how Japanese cooking has long used it to season food without reaching for more salt.
What is umami, exactly?
Umami is one of the five basic tastes, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter — a savory, mouth-filling quality often described simply as "deliciousness." It comes from specific compounds, mainly glutamate and, in smaller amounts, inosinate and guanylate, that occur naturally in many foods.
Who discovered umami, and how?
In 1908, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda tasted a bowl of kombu dashi and noticed a flavor that didn't fit sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. He isolated glutamate from the kombu as the source and named the taste umami, from umai (delicious) and mi (taste). Taste receptors that respond specifically to glutamate were confirmed by researchers decades later, giving umami the same scientific standing as the other four basic tastes.
Which foods are naturally high in umami?
Kombu (kelp) is rich in glutamate. Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) carries inosinate. Dried shiitake mushrooms carry guanylate. Fermented foods like soy sauce and miso develop glutamate as proteins break down during fermentation. Tomatoes, cured meats, and aged cheese are common non-Japanese examples of the same taste.
Why does dashi taste more savory than kombu or bonito alone?
Because glutamate and inosinate reinforce each other. Combine a glutamate-rich ingredient like kombu with an inosinate-rich one like katsuobushi, and the resulting umami is noticeably stronger than either produces on its own — not simply added together, but multiplied. This synergy is the reason traditional dashi almost always combines the two rather than using just one.
How does umami let you use less salt?
Salt makes food taste seasoned; umami makes food taste more like itself, adding a savory depth a dish can otherwise be missing. Japanese cooking has long leaned on this: a dashi-based broth, a spoonful of miso, or a few drops of a well-brewed soy sauce carry enough savory depth that a dish needs less added salt to taste satisfying. It's a substitution of flavor for saltiness, not a substitution for taste.
How can I start using umami-rich ingredients at home?
Keep one dashi ingredient on hand — kombu, katsuobushi, or a powder made from either — and use it as the liquid base for soups, braises, and sauces instead of building flavor with salt alone. A splash of naturally brewed soy sauce or a spoonful of miso stirred in near the end adds another layer of umami on top.
Quick summary
- Umami is a basic taste, not a flavor "boost" — it comes from glutamate, inosinate, and guanylate occurring naturally in food.
- Kombu, katsuobushi, shiitake, miso, and soy sauce are some of the most concentrated umami sources in Japanese cooking.
- Combining a glutamate source with an inosinate source, like kombu with katsuobushi, creates more umami than either alone.
- Building a dish around umami is a way to season with flavor instead of salt.
From our Pantry
- Rishiri Kombu from Hokkaido — the glutamate side of dashi, cold-brewed overnight for the gentlest broth.
- Uneno Katsuobushi Dashi Powder from Kyoto — the inosinate side, for a more savory, aromatic broth.
- Tsuru Bishio from Shodoshima — four-year barrel-aged soy sauce, umami built up slowly through fermentation.
- Gentle Umami Table Set from Japan — dashi, barrel-aged soy sauce, and salt-free soba, built entirely around this idea.
For more on how umami shows up in Japan's most common savory stock, read What Is Dashi? A Simple Guide to Japan's Essential Stock.