Classically tastes are classified in 5 categories (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and hot). Japanese chefs have discovered a sixth taste which they called “umami”. Umami has been imperfectly translated into English by delicate.


Umami is pivotal in Japanese traditional cuisine and can be described as a hybrid taste combining several perceptions and producing exceptional impressions when tasting food.

Kombu seaweed kelp or bonito flakes used to prepare Japanese dashi stock are good examples of particularly high-loaded umami ingredients. But it can also be found in meat, seafood, vegetables, cereals, sauces and condiments.