On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 6:02:53 AM UTC-10, notbob wrote:
> Back story first:
>
> I wuz exploring koko's blog and slipped into White On Rice, one of
> koko's linked blog sites. What was the first recipe to catch my eye?
> Umami Burgers. ????
>
> Now, I'm jones'ing an ancient craving, hamburgers and cheeseburgers.
> Couldn't find a burger worth a damn in my locale, so started making my
> own. I've changed my recipe jes a tad, but I still got it! Made one
> last night and it was sublime. But, I'm not above improving upon my
> own recipe to further my occasional addiction. WOR sez Viet fish
> sauce is the answer to the "ultimate" umami burger.
>
> <http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/best-umami-hamburger-recipe/>
>
> While I love fish sauce (Thai or Viet) and always have plenty on hand,
> never thought of it as a marinade for my burger meat. I'll definetly
> give it a shot. My burger jones is alive and well.
>
> Still....
>
> What is umami? Is it a real deal or jes some Asians trying to foist
> their cooking methods/terms off as some sorta scientific fact? If
> tomatoes and other MSG heavy foods are particularly savory, is that a
> whole new element for one's palate to discern? Why is sweet, sour,
> bitter, and salty not enough? In short, is "umami" a real distinction
> or jes another trendy term being ferociously flogged through the
> food-o-sphere?
>
> nb

If you're unaware of what this is, you could live without it. It could be just a trend as far as home cooks are concerned.

I consider absolutely essential in some dishes. Potato salad being one. My current favorite trick is to use gochujang, but you can also get that naturally by lightly scorching rice in chicken stock as in jook. The locals here are heavy into umami. It's why we use shoyu and MSG in cooking. Umami is the reason why Japan mayo and gochujang is gonna make it big in the US. OTOH, that's just going to be a hot trend for 15 minutes or so.

The people in Hawaii and Asia were raised eating umami rich foods. I have some doubts that umami will have much of an impact on cooks not raised on umami foods - even though the food manufacturers use it to increase sales. They are fully aware of how powerful the stuff is as a flavor enhancer.