Editing Umami (section)

==Discovery==
[[File:Kikunae Ikeda.jpg|thumb|[[Kikunae Ikeda]]]]
[[Glutamate]] has a long history in cooking.<ref name = "Lehrer_2007">{{cite book | author = Lehrer J |author-link = Jonah Lehrer |title = Proust was a Neuroscientist |publisher = [[Mariner Books]] |year =2007|isbn = 978-0-547-08590-6 |ref=Lehrer07|title-link = Proust was a Neuroscientist}}</ref> Fermented fish sauces ([[garum]]), which are rich in glutamate, were used widely in ancient Rome,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Smriga M, Mizukoshi T, Iwata D, Sachise E, Miyano H, Kimura T, Curtis R |title=Amino acids and minerals in ancient remnants of fish sauce (garum) sampled in the "Garum Shop" of Pompeii, Italy |journal=[[Journal of Food Composition and Analysis]] |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=442–46 |date=August 2010 |doi=10.1016/j.jfca.2010.03.005}}</ref> fermented barley sauces ([[murri (condiment)|murri]]) rich in glutamate were used in medieval [[Byzantine cuisine|Byzantine]] and [[Arab cuisine|Arab]] cuisine,<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-01-fo-34730-story.html|title=Rot of Ages| author = Perry C | date = 1 April 1998 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref> and fermented [[fish sauce]]s and [[soy sauce]]s have histories going back to the third century in China. Cheese varieties are rich in glutamate and umami flavor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Drake |first1=S. L. |last2=Carunchia Whetstine |first2=M. E. |last3=Drake |first3=M. A. |last4=Courtney |first4=P. |last5=Fligner |first5=K. |last6=Jenkins |first6=J. |last7=Pruitt |first7=C. |date=2007 |title=Sources of umami taste in Cheddar and Swiss cheeses |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17995691/ |journal=Journal of Food Science |volume=72 |issue=6 |pages=S360–366 |doi=10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00402.x |issn=1750-3841 |pmid=17995691}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cheese |url=https://www.umamiinfo.com/richfood/foodstuff/cheese.html#:~:text=Mature%20Cheddar%20which%20has%20been,complex%20and%20satisfying%20lingering%20aftertaste. |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Umami Information Center |language=en}}</ref> In the late 1800s, chef [[Auguste Escoffier]], who opened restaurants in Paris and London, created meals that combined umami with [[Saltiness|salty]], [[sour]], [[Sweetness|sweet]], and [[bitter (taste)|bitter]] tastes.<ref name=npr/> However, he did not know the chemical source of this unique quality. 

Umami was first scientifically identified in 1908 by [[Kikunae Ikeda]],<ref name="Ikeda_2002">{{cite journal | author = Ikeda K | title = New Seasonings | journal = Chemical Senses | volume = 27 | issue = 9 | pages = 847–9 | date = November 2002 | pmid = 12438213 | doi = 10.1093/chemse/27.9.847 | doi-access = free}} (partial translation of {{cite journal | author = Ikeda K | title=New Seasonings | language = Japanese  | journal = Journal of the Chemical Society of Tokyo | year= 1909 | volume=30 | pages= 820–36}})</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Nakamura E | title = One hundred years since the discovery of the "Kawamura_2016" taste from seaweed broth by Kikunae Ikeda, who transcended his time | journal = Chemistry: An Asian Journal | volume = 6 | issue = 7 | pages = 1659–63 | date = July 2011 | pmid = 21472994 | doi = 10.1002/asia.201000899}}</ref> a professor of the [[Tokyo Imperial University]]. He found that [[glutamic acid|glutamate]] was responsible for the palatability of the broth from ''[[kombu]]'' seaweed. He noticed that the taste of ''kombu'' ''[[dashi]]'' was distinct from sweet, sour, bitter, and salty and named it ''umami''.<ref name="Kean_2015"/>

Professor Shintaro Kodama, a disciple of Ikeda, discovered in 1913 that [[Katsuobushi|dried bonito flakes]] (a type of tuna) contained another umami substance.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Kodama S |journal=Journal of the Chemical Society of Japan|title=On a procedure for separating inosinic acid|volume=34|page=751|year=1913}}</ref> This was the ribonucleotide [[inosine monophosphate|IMP]]. In 1957, Akira Kuninaka realized that the ribonucleotide GMP present in [[shiitake]] mushrooms also conferred the umami taste.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Kuninaka A |journal= Journal of the Agricultural Chemical Society of Japan |title=Studies on taste of ribonucleic acid derivatives|volume=34|issue=6|pages=487–92|year=1960|doi=10.1271/nogeikagaku1924.34.6_489|doi-access=free|language=JA}}</ref> One of Kuninaka's most important discoveries was the [[synergistic]] effect between ribonucleotides and glutamate. When foods rich in glutamate are combined with ingredients that have ribonucleotides, the resulting taste intensity is higher than would be expected from merely adding the intensity of the individual ingredients.<ref name="Yamaguchi_2000"></ref>

This synergy of umami may help explain various classical food pairings: the Japanese make ''dashi'' with ''[[kombu]]'' seaweed and dried bonito flakes; the Chinese add [[Chinese leek]] and [[Chinese cabbage]] to chicken soup, as do Scots in the similar Scottish dish of [[cock-a-leekie soup]]; and Italians grate the [[Parmigiano-Reggiano]] cheese on a variety of different dishes.