umami

Etymology

From Japanese 旨味, うまみ (umami), from 旨い (umai, “delicious”), which describes the quality of a pleasant, savory taste.

noun

1. One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats.
   Umami is the mysterious “fifth taste”—a flavour that has never seemed to fit into the existing categories of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. South-east Asian chefs have exploited it throughout history—it's an essential part of the taste of seaweed, among other things[…] 2000-01-28, Oliver Burkeman, “Things that make you go yum”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
   But we are, of course, sweaty, fleshy lady-animals – all fur and umami. 2011, Caitlin Moran, How to be a Woman
   A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades. May 16 2018, Adam Rogers, “The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel”, in Wired
   I quickly realized that I have always been obsessed with umami; I just didn't know it. It's why a sprinkle of Parm on just about anything heightens that dish's flavor; it's why grilled smoky mushrooms taste so good. Umami is a deeply satisfying taste, and luckily for us, umami is everywhere—it's in tomatoes and soy sauce, fresh and dried mushrooms, aged cheese, nutritional yeast […] 2019, Raquel Pelzel, Umami Bomb: 75 Vegetarian Recipes That Explode with Flavor, Workman Publishing, page 2