notbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 2015-08-07, dsi1 > wrote:
>
> > cuisine. Only a Japanese could have discovered "umami."
>
> Hate to burst yer bubble, but only the Japanese could have named
> "umami".
>
> Americans have been eating and using "umami" for over half a century.
> We jes never applied a term to it. I know cuz I've been eating pizza
> and spaghetti heavily dosed w/ Parmesan cheese for even longer. Plus,
> in the 50s, Ac'cent brand MSG was huge in America. The very first
> recipe box I ever remember seeing was an old Ac'cent box. It was only
> since the great Chinese restaurant scare (totally disproved) that
> Americans have backed away from MSG. That still didn't impair their
> love for pizza/spaghetti, which is allegedly loaded with "umami"
> (tomatoes, parm).
>
> I'm gonna try an experiment. Dashi, the ubiquitous Japanese soup
> broth, is considered to be THE food that distinguishes and isolates(?)
> "umami". I've made it once before, so will make it again and see what
> I discover.
>
> I will make REAL dashi using kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes. I
> long ago changed to instant dashi, but for the sake of science I will
> make it from scratch, despite bonito flakes being expensive as Hell
> out here in the boonies. Stay tuned.
>
> nb

It's not hard. You save the flakes in the fridge and add more seawwed
for 'second use dashi' and you can get a weaker version called 'third
use' as well.

Carol


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