Umami is the savoury, mouth-filling taste alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and it is central to why good stock, soy sauce and dashi taste so satisfying. The word comes from Japanese, and the taste comes mainly from glutamate, a compound naturally present in foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and seaweed.
Where umami comes from in cooking
- Fermented ingredients such as soy sauce, miso and fish sauce, all rich in natural glutamate.
- Long-simmered stocks and broths, including dashi, which draws umami from kombu and bonito.
- MSG, a purified form of the same glutamate found naturally in these foods, see our guide to MSG for more.
The science behind umami
Umami was identified as a distinct taste in 1908 by a Japanese chemist studying why kombu-based dashi tasted so satisfying, and it took most of the following century for Western food science to formally accept it alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Specific receptors on the tongue respond to glutamate and related compounds, which is why the discovery mattered scientifically rather than just being a matter of description.
Building umami into everyday cooking
Combining two umami-rich ingredients often gives a bigger boost than using either alone, since certain compounds amplify each other, which is part of why dashi (kombu plus bonito) or a tomato and parmesan sauce taste so much richer than either ingredient on its own. Keeping a well-stocked pantry of soy sauce, dried mushrooms, parmesan rinds and good stock is a practical way to build savoury depth into everyday cooking without relying on salt alone.
Umami ingredients from Asian kitchens
- Kombu and dashi: kombu seaweed is rich in glutamate, and Japanese dashi is built on it.
- Bonito flakes: dried, smoked fish rich in inosinate, which boosts the glutamate in kombu.
- Dried shiitake: high in guanylate, another umami compound.
- Soy sauce, miso and fermented bean pastes: fermentation breaks proteins into free glutamate.
- Fish sauce and shrimp paste: key umami sources in South East Asian cooking.
- Oyster sauce: concentrated oyster extract with sugar and salt.
Umami in everyday British food
Umami is not only found in Asian cooking. Parmesan, ripe tomatoes, mushrooms, Marmite, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, cured ham and gravy all have plenty of it. This is why a spoon of Marmite in a stew or a little parmesan in a sauce makes it taste deeper and more savoury.
Why pairing ingredients works
Umami is strongest when glutamate is paired with inosinate or guanylate. That is why kombu and bonito together make a richer dashi than either alone, and why a stock made with chicken bones and dried shiitake tastes so full. In cooking, layering two or three umami ingredients often has a bigger effect than adding more of one.
FAQ
Is umami the same as MSG?
No, umami is the taste itself, while MSG is one specific ingredient that delivers it in concentrated form.
Can I add umami without using MSG or fish sauce?
Yes, mushrooms, tomatoes, parmesan and a well-made stock all bring natural umami to a dish.