Scientific American: Feature Article: Making Sense of Taste: March 2001

Flavor is a complex mixture of sensory input composed of taste (gustation), smell (olfaction) and the tactile sensation of food as it is being munched, a characteristic that food scientists often term "mouthfeel." Although people may use the word "taste" to mean "flavor," in the strict sense it is applicable only to the sensations arising from specialized taste cells in the mouth. Scientists generally describe human taste perception in terms of four qualities: saltiness, sourness, sweetness and bitterness. Some have suggested, however, that other categories exist as well--most notably umami, the sensation elicited by glutamate, one of the 20 amino acids that make up the proteins in meat, fish and legumes. Glutamate also serves as a flavor enhancer in the form of the additive monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Umami, is a new taste I have heard of before. Lets see what a search turns up for it.

---

Search for umami on:  All the Web - AltaVista - Deja - Google - HotBot - Infoseek - Lycos - Northern Light - Yahoo

---

Here is a guy who wrote an article on umami, Strat's Place - Daniel Rogov - The Noise About Umami