Home Cookin'

Where to Find Taste No. 5 (Umami in a Tube!)

Has the growing drumbeat of “umami” from cooking shows and foodinistas caught your ear yet? Umami (from the Japanese word for “yummy”) is the elusive “fifth taste” after salty, sweet, bitter and sour, and can generally be described as “meaty” or “savory.” This is, in fact, something that MSG accomplished, but now, a food writer has come up with a more natural version: Taste No. 5 Umami Paste. Cookbook author Laura Santtini (Easy Tasty Italian), who also brought the world edible silver spray, makes the stuff from mashed anchovy pulp and mushrooms and stuff. The Telegraph describes Taste No. 5 as “a dose of parmesan, anchovies, black olives, porcini and balsamic vinegar all in one go.” So for those home cooks who need a dash of an MSG substitute to stimulate some glutamate receptors, look no further. The stuff has reached our shores, but has not yet reached stores in San Francisco. We’ll update you with the BREAKING news once we find out who’ll be selling it. If you can’t wait, you can order it now from Dean & Deluca in New York, though it’s not yet up on their website, and Amazon should have it next week. [Grub Street]

Where to Find Taste No. 5 (Umami in a Tube!)