Umami paste

[Melman Giraffe]

Got some of this from Tesco the other week and added it to a Ragu I was making for the kids. Not sure if it added anything to the sauce tbh.

Anyone else tried it?

[zac510]

MSG, right?

I've not heard of it, can you show us a link or picture?

[Melman Giraffe]

Bingo

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/ProductView-10317-100...

[OzzyR1]

Have noticed this in Waitrose - it's called Taste No. 5 in there.

Apologies for link to crappy newspaper:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-124...



Never tried it myself but am curious to know if others have any postive or negative opinions.

[IanA2]

Umami, popularly referred to as savoriness,is one of the five basic tastes together with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Umami is a loanword from the Japanese umami meaning "pleasant savory taste".[6] This particular writing was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai "delicious" and mi "taste". Chinese characters are used for a more general meaning, when a particular food is delicious.

Wiki is your friend.

Edited by IanA2 on Wednesday 8th February 17:01

[dapprman]

Not sure you should notice anything in a heavy tomato dish - tomatoes themselves are heavy in umami, as are some mushrooms and oysters.

[Pferdestarke]

It's bloody delicious. Especially when spread on buttered toast.

[Hoover.]

Pferdestarke said:

It's bloody delicious. Especially when spread on buttered toast.

yeah, it's very much like Gentleman's Relish

[pacman1]

Wasabe paste for me please.

[Mobile Chicane]

I use a large pinch of sliced dried wild mushrooms to supercharge the flavour of pasta sauces and stews. These have the quality of adding 'savouriness', which drying seems to concentrate.

Leftover shop-bought mushrooms can also be dried and used in the same way. Just slice them thinly and spread on kitchen paper over a radiator. Never throw mushrooms away

[Flibble]

You're basically adding glutamate. It's not dissimilar to adding MSG with the advantage that it'll be lower in sodium. MSG is way cheaper though.

[Justin Cyder]

Wouldn't it be cheapeer to buy Marmite?

[paulmurr]

Hoover. said:

Pferdestarke said:

It's bloody delicious. Especially when spread on buttered toast.

yeah, it's very much like Gentleman's Relish

I keep a tube of anchovy paste in the fridge for this reason

[Melman Giraffe]

pacman1 said:

Wasabe paste for me please.

Its nothing like wasabe.

[Nom de ploom]

I add a few drops of fish sauce to my bolognese to give it that lip smacking edge...don't overdo it though

[pacman1]

Melman Giraffe said:

pacman1 said:

Wasabe paste for me please.

Its nothing like wasabe.

Exackerly!

[markoc]

OzzyR1 said:

Have noticed this in Waitrose - it's called Taste No. 5 in there.

Apologies for link to crappy newspaper:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-124...



Never tried it myself but am curious to know if others have any postive or negative opinions.

I was given a tube of it and a cookbook last Christmas. Boxed set jobby from waitrose. Book was a bit pretentious for my liking and has been filed away. If it really was the fifth taste it would be a lot better known. Lobbed the umami paste in a few things like spagbol, casseroles and chilli but to be honest didn't see much of a difference - and certainly not the taste explosion that was promised - which was hardly a surprise. Personal opinion is that it's a fad, and decent seasoning is a better bet. As has been mentioned, anchovies are a great secret ingredient - even if like me you consider them to be beyond minging straight out of the tin.

[Pothole]

Melman Giraffe said:

pacman1 said:

Wasabe paste for me please.

Its nothing like wasabe.

Is wasabe anything like wasabi?

[pacman1]

Pothole said:

Is wasabe anything like wasabi?

Yeah.

[Pothole]

pacman1 said:

Pothole said:

Is wasabe anything like wasabi?

Yeah.

Very like it?