Mushrooms; King Of Umami Fungus Amoung Us

Mushrooms; King of UMAMI

luisascatering 15 years ago

Umami (pronounced oo-MAH-mee) is derived from the Japanese words umai, meaning “delicious” and
mi meaning “essence,” but chefs and food lovers describe umami as a rich, mouth-filling, meaty and
savory flavor that provides an extra satisfying taste to foods. Asians have talked about umami for
centuries, but it’s only recently that science has proven that the brain experiences umami as a unique taste, just like the brain does with sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

While many ingredients are umami, there is one that stands alone as the king of umami: mushrooms.
Mushrooms not only deliver plenty of umami by themselves, they actually amplify the umami of other ingredients, an effect called “synergy.” This means that adding mushrooms to just about any savory dish will make all the other umami ingredients, and everything else in the dish, taste even better.

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trigger 15 years ago said:

Thank you Luisa for that wonderful and interesting information about mushrooms. The Asian culture is steeped with knowledge about mushrooms. I certainly do agree that mushrooms do enhance through synergy to the whole recipe.

That is why we tend to use them frequently.

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

Thank you for the excellent explanation....I have heard of this as a passing reference but never seen it explained so well.

Great information!

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foodie4eva 15 years ago said:

Thank you for articulating what I have always felt about mushrooms. I LOVE them. I like them raw, sauteed by themselves in butter or EVOO, in soups, in sauces, etc. etc.
And I never met a mushroom I didn't like--I have people say mushrooms don't have any taste, and I just have to look at them like they have three heads, because how do you explain mushrooms to someone like that. Not that I am dismissing their comment, I just don't know how to explain it to them.

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