Yes, the Japanese are obsessed with this and I'm starting to understand why.
When you want to enhance the pure flavors of each ingredient, you can't really overload your senses with more salt, sugar, sourness or bitterness. But you sure can add umami to just about anything to punch it up a few notches.
I'm not talking about the MSG they use in really bad Chinese cooking either.
Natural Umami is basically Glutamic Acid that enhances the other acids like Lactic Acids or Amino Acids in protein. There is a stereo effect that happens in your mouth and the flavor is tremendously full tasting.
The best example I can give with regards to western cooking is with Parmesan cheese.
Imagine you have a bowl of Bolognese and you take that first bite... Yah, it's good. Perhaps great. You get tons of rich meaty flavor, the gentle sweetness from the carrots and onions and then balanced by the slight acidity from the tomatoes. Well what happens when you spoon some freshly grated Parmesan cheese over your bowl?
That is Umami! The glutamic acids from the cheese punch you in the face and enhance that dish big time.
The picture below is a bowl of mushroom risotto I made. Not wanting to add cheese to the dish, Mizu Shio from the guys at Matsumaeya was a great substitute.
(Mizu Shio literally means Salty Water)
According to the President of Matsumaeya (Matsumuru san), Mizu Shio was used in Japan before Soy Sauce was introduced to the island nation. For centuries, the Mizu Shio was the source of sodium to many dishes. And over time, the art of crafting a Mizu Shio with tons of Umami came to be.
The Umami from this particular Mizu Shio I have in my hands is derived from Mushrooms, Shrimp, Scallops, and Konbu.
Concentrated in Mizu Shio, and packed in an atomizer, it's easy to spritz just about anything to kick up the dish.
This was a complete revelation for me and I'm definitely going to promote this product to my friends and chefs in NYC.
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