Premium
One Hundred Years since the Discovery of the “Umami” Taste from Seaweed Broth by Kikunae Ikeda, who Transcended his Time
Author(s) -
Nakamura Eiichi
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201000899
Subject(s) - umami , taste , food science , asparagus , sugar , chemistry , biology , botany
So close you can almost taste it : In 1908, Prof. Ikeda found that glutamate was essential for a meal to taste good. He isolated it from seaweed broth, found it also in asparagus, tomato, cheese, and meat, synthesized it by hydrolysis of wheat gluten, and developed into a food additive like sugar, salt, and vinegar. His primary intention was to improve nutrition with the aid of chemistry.