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Scientists debated whether umami was indeed a basic taste ever since Kikunae Ikeda proposed its existence in 1908.

Finally in 1985, at the first Umami International Symposium in Hawaii, the term umami was officially recognized as the scientific term to describe the taste of glutamates and nucleotides.

Now it is widely accepted as the fifth basic taste.

Umami represents the taste of the amino acid L-glutamate and 5 ’- ribonucleotides such as guanosine monophosphate ( GMP ) and inosine monophosphate ( IMP ).

Although it can be described as a pleasant " brothy " or " meaty " taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue, umami has no translation.

Umami is umami in most major languages, including English, Spanish and French.

The sensation of umami is due to the detection of the carboxylate anion of glutamate in specialized receptor cells present on the human and other animal tongues.

Its fundamental effect is the ability to balance taste and round the total flavor of a dish.

Umami clearly enhances the palatability of a wide variety of foods.

Glutamate in acid form ( glutamic acid ) imparts little umami taste ; whereas the salts of glutamic acid, known as glutamates, can easily ionize and give the characteristic umami taste.

GMP and IMP amplify the taste intensity of glutamate.