On Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 2:19:48 AM UTC-10, Gary wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> >
> > Asian cooks have an advantage over Western cooks because they make most of their dishes with the idea of maximizing umami. I don't know how much Western cooks are able to utilize this basic taste. It might be that umami is an abstract concept to most cooks.
>
> I'm still trying to figure out just exactly what umami is.
> I would love to hear everyone's definition of this taste.
> Please do.

The simplest way to find out, hopefully, is to get a bag of MSG and use it and study what it does with food. I think my daughter must have thrown out my bag of MSG cause it's nowhere to be found. OTOH, I've found that I don't need it because I have several ingredients rich in the stuff.

1) Shoyu
2) Chinese salted black beans
3) Miso paste
4) Japanese mayo
5) Fish sauce
6) Salted anchovy
7) Korean gochujang
8) Oyster sauce
9) Dried mushroom
10) Katsuobushi
11) Kim chee
12) Cheese, especially Parmesan

Mostly you get umami from fermented foods.