The Difference Between Umami And Salty

The word "umami" pops up a lot nowadays, but it's often used as a bit of a marketing buzzword or just as a way to say something tastes really good. Technically speaking, however, the secret of umami is a lot more specific than that. The word refers to a specific taste registered by particular taste buds on our tongue — and we're not talking about the same taste buds triggered by salt.

Our tongues register five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Saltiness is our reaction to sodium — a chemical element our bodies need in small quantities but reject excessive amounts. It's thought that this is why we enjoy mild saltiness, but turn away from anything that's too salty.

Umami, on the other hand, is triggered by an amino acid called glutamate — one of the core components of protein. Just as saltiness helps us regulate our sodium intake, it's thought that the deeply satisfying and enjoyable taste of umami drives us to eat the large amounts of protein we need to survive and thrive.

Tasting saltiness and umami is the best way to understand the differences between them, but the most common description of umami says it has a meaty savoriness that deepens the flavor of foods. If you want to try the flavor yourself, check out these umami-boosted recipes for gravy, mac and cheese, and roasted broccoli.  

Umami is not as familiar a word as sweet, sour, salty, or bitter, and that's because it's a much newer concept. It was discovered in 1908 by a Japanese scientist called Kikunae Ikeda, who identified a "fifth taste" triggered by glutamate in konbu (a type of kelp used in Japanese dashi broth) and extracted it in crystallized form. Glutamate is one of the most common amino acids, and occurs naturally in our bodies and all sorts of foods, such as sardines, tomatoes, onions, cheese, beef, and much more.

Ikeda named the fifth taste "umami," which means "taste of deliciousness" in Japanese. He and his partner, Saburosuke Suzuki, found a way to mass produce a mixture of glutamate and sodium called monosodium glutamate — otherwise known as MSG. The company they founded to sell the product, Ajinomoto, still exists today, and while MSG developed a bad reputation in the West during the 1960s, the Food and Drug Administration cites recent studies which claim it's safe in moderate amounts (just like salt). Because it contains a lot less sodium (around one-third of the amount in table salt), it's also considered an alternative seasoning for those who need to reduce their sodium intake. While it can't replace the all-important ingredient that is salt, you at least get a good dose of umami to make up for the reduced saltiness.