Chasing Umami Flavor

A brief consultation with ChatGPT conveys this wisdom about Umami flavor and how you get it.

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It is often described as a deep, savory, meaty, or brothy flavor that enhances the overall taste experience. The term “umami” comes from Japanese, meaning “pleasant savory taste.”

How is Umami Achieved?

Umami is primarily derived from glutamates, which are naturally occurring amino acids, as well as inosinate and guanylate, which are nucleotides that enhance the umami effect.

And:

If you’re following a Whole Foods, Plant-Based (WFPB) diet, you can still achieve umami flavor using natural, plant-based ingredients without processed additives like MSG or refined foods. Here are some excellent options:

Whole Food, Plant-Based Umami Sources:

1. Fermented & Aged Foods:
   • Miso paste – Rich in natural glutamates, great for soups, marinades, and dressings.
   • Tamari or naturally brewed soy sauce – Fermented soy delivers deep umami.
   • Nutritional yeast – Provides a cheesy, umami-rich flavor, perfect for sauces or popcorn.
   • Kimchi & sauerkraut – Fermented veggies add tangy umami depth.
   • Tempeh – Fermented soybeans with a nutty, umami-packed taste.
2. Mushrooms (Fresh or Dried):
   • Shiitake, porcini, maitake, cremini, and portobello – Rich in glutamates, excellent for stocks, stews, or grilling.
   • Dried shiitake – Extremely concentrated umami flavor, perfect for broths and stir-fries.
3. Tomatoes (Especially Cooked or Sun-Dried):
   • Roasted tomatoes – Caramelization enhances their natural glutamates.
   • Sun-dried tomatoes – Intensely umami-packed, great for sauces or pesto.
4. Sea Vegetables:
   • Kombu (kelp) – Used in Japanese dashi broth, adds deep umami.
   • Nori (seaweed sheets) – Adds a mild umami boost to rice dishes or salads.
   • Dulse flakes – Can be sprinkled on soups, grains, or veggies.
5. Legumes & Beans:
   • Lentils – When slow-cooked, they develop a rich, earthy umami.
   • Chickpeas – Roasting intensifies umami notes, great for hummus or salads.
   • Black beans – Used in Latin and Asian dishes for depth of flavor.
6. Nuts & Seeds:
   • Walnuts – Have natural umami notes, great for making plant-based “meat” dishes.
   • Hemp seeds – Mild umami, nutritious addition to bowls and soups.
   • Sesame seeds & tahini – Rich, nutty umami that deepens flavors.
7. Caramelized or Roasted Vegetables:
   • Caramelized onions & garlic – Develop natural glutamates and rich umami when slow-cooked.
   • Roasted root vegetables (beets, carrots, sweet potatoes) – Enhance natural sweetness and umami.
8. Homemade Plant-Based Broths & Stocks:
   • Simmer dried mushrooms, kombu, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and miso to make a deeply umami-rich vegetable broth.

How to Boost Umami in WFPB Cooking:

• Layer ingredients – Use multiple umami-rich foods in a single dish (e.g., mushrooms + miso + roasted garlic).
• Slow-cook or roast – Enhances depth and umami by breaking down plant fibers.
• Ferment or age foods – Adds complex, umami-packed flavors naturally.
• Balance flavors – Pair umami with acidity (lemon, vinegar) and sweetness (roasted veggies, dates) for harmony.

What is always interesting to me is how often I get ideas from different cuisines, and then gradually I transform recipes to something really delectable. The evolution of recipes is a wonder to behold. My cooking classes at St Helena’s school have provided ample material for that as people from very different ethnic backgrounds have attended, and sometimes bring their own recipes.

I will make a couple of posts about these experiences, hoping that it may be helpful.

• Locro de Lentejas – Lentil Stew from Ecuador. Funnily enough Ecuador prefers mild, and the husband of the woman who brought the recipe is from Honduras, and prefers it hot… Lentils by themselves are kind of dull, in an earthy and pleasant way, but they need help, and you can used quite a few herbs and spices before it ever becomes noticeably hot. If you do have an audience that likes spice, be my guest, options galore.
• Bruinebonensoep, Dutch Brown Bean Soup. Evolution of recipes is unstoppable for me. One day in 2020, I had a yen for Dutch brown bean soup, and I tried to recreate it, starting here. The challenge became how to approach the taste, and I ordered some 5 lbs of brown beans from Holland, so one of the missions was to approximate the flavor of the Dutch beans with readily available varieties, and by the time of the last recipe, I had that pretty well nailed. There are at least 3 or 4 good options, and the rest is mostly the business of layering flavors.
• Roast Belgian Endives. This was a dish my mother used to make when I was a kid. We were vegetarian, and she made it with a cheese sauce and a boiled egg, with potatoes on the side. I made it with a purely #WFPB cheese-alike sauce, and with stir fried (in water) mushrooms, and fingerling potatoes on the side. And a nice salad for openers. The end result was five star, and tasted better than what I remember.

I will write a piece on each one of these culinary adventures, to see how they evolved over the years. I find myself frequently doing this and in the end, I just make a large pot of soup on a weekend, and keep maybe 1/3 of it for during the week, and freeze the rest, so I can always have a quick soup and a salad, whenever I am running out of time.