On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:32:07 -0600, Frawley wrote:

>> blake murphy > wrote:
>>>On Mon, 7 Dec 2009 13:36:29 -0600, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>>
>>> Nick Cramer said:
>>>> Is this just a marketing ploy by Kikkoman? Seems to me that you get
>>>> umami when you have the right balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter
>>>> (and spicy/hot) for the dish you're preparing.
>>>>
>>>> Spicy/hot. Maybe that should be the fifth flavor. Wide range of
>>>> intensities, durations and location of effects (different parts of the
>>>> mouth, tongue, throat), sweat (face, brow, top or back of head, back).
>>>>
>>>> Please educate me. Thanks.
>>>
>>> I agree on spicy as a fifth flavor.
>>>
>>> As far as umami, given the various foods purported to have that flavor, it's
>>> not making a lot of sense, unless it's just another word for savory.
>>>
>>> One of the cooking competition shows, either Top Chef or Next Iron Chef, I
>>> don't recall, had a competition where the contestants had to incorporate
>>> umami, and they had some renowned asian chef who I had never heard of
>>> (that's doesn't mean much) judging their entries, including whether or not
>>> and how well they had made use of "umami."
>>>
>>> I often tell people, especially when the conversation is about barbecue or
>>> asian cooking, and especially pertaining to sauces, that I am a savory guy,
>>> not a sweet guy. Maybe that means I'm an umami guy. ;-)
>>>
>>> MartyB in KC
>>
>>i'll repeat myself and point you to *wikipedia*:
>>
>><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami>
>>
>>so yeah, savory, but there seem to be distinct receptors on the tongue for
>>it, just like salty, sweet, bitter and sour.
>>
>>your pal,
>>blake
>
> Right, it's taste receptor issue, not a 5th "flavor". It's a matter
> of biology, not opinion. We don't get to vote.

well, there are taste receptors *specific* to the other four flavors, so i
would argue that the existence of specific receptors for umami indicates a
fifth 'taste.'

your pal,
blake