The Umami Factor


Book Description

"You're about to be introduced to the UMAMI factor, the secret to sensational homemade beverages, including spirits, wine, beer, kombucha, and more. Chances are you may not have heard of umami, the taste impression created by certain amino acids in a food or beverage. Starting the novice off right with a thorough understanding of 'full-spectrum' fermentation theory, the book dives into the various preparation techniques and shows how umami-producing ingredients create beverages with a sensation of balance and roundness on the palate, tongue, nose and even throat. More than 7 recipes, sharp insight, and handy tips help the amateur fermentation chef conquer the next frontier in beverage science. Even the most experienced of fermentation afficionados will discover a philosophical yet practical approach to further exploration."--Back cover.




How to Drink


Book Description

A spirited new translation of a forgotten classic, shot through with timeless wisdom Is there an art to drinking alcohol? Can drinking ever be a virtue? The Renaissance humanist and neoclassical poet Vincent Obsopoeus (ca. 1498–1539) thought so. In the winelands of sixteenth-century Germany, he witnessed the birth of a poisonous new culture of bingeing, hazing, peer pressure, and competitive drinking. Alarmed, and inspired by the Roman poet Ovid's Art of Love, he wrote The Art of Drinking (De Arte Bibendi) (1536), a how-to manual for drinking with pleasure and discrimination. In How to Drink, Michael Fontaine offers the first proper English translation of Obsopoeus's text, rendering his poetry into spirited, contemporary prose and uncorking a forgotten classic that will appeal to drinkers of all kinds and (legal) ages. Arguing that moderation, not abstinence, is the key to lasting sobriety, and that drinking can be a virtue if it is done with rules and limits, Obsopoeus teaches us how to manage our drinking, how to win friends at social gatherings, and how to give a proper toast. But he also says that drinking to excess on occasion is okay—and he even tells us how to win drinking games, citing extensive personal experience. Complete with the original Latin on facing pages, this sparkling work is as intoxicating today as when it was first published.




Umami


Book Description

Highly qualified food and nutrition scientists combine with some of the world's greatest chefs to produce this superbly illustrated revelation of the mysterious 'fifth taste' that has gained global recognition in recent years and has become such a key component in cooking. Featuring information on the science of the umami taste, and with recipes from world-class chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, Alexandre Bourdas, Michael Anthony and many more, Umami: The Fifth Taste presents wonderful new possibilities for cuisines of every genre and culinary style.




The Vegetarian Flavor Bible


Book Description

Throughout time, people have chosen to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet for a variety of reasons, from ethics to economy to personal and planetary well-being. Experts now suggest a new reason for doing so: maximizing flavor -- which is too often masked by meat-based stocks or butter and cream. The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is an essential guide to culinary creativity, based on insights from dozens of leading American chefs, representing such acclaimed restaurants as Crossroads and M.A.K.E. in Los Angeles; Candle 79, Dirt Candy, and Kajitsu in New York City, Green Zebra in Chicago, Greens and Millennium in San Francisco, Natural Selection and Portobello in Portland, Plum Bistro in Seattle, and Vedge in Philadelphia. Emphasizing plant-based whole foods including vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, the book provides an A-to-Z listing of hundreds of ingredients, from avßav? to zucchini blossoms, cross-referenced with the herbs, spices, and other seasonings that best enhance their flavor, resulting in thousands of recommended pairings. The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is the ideal reference for the way millions of people cook and eat today -- vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike. This groundbreaking book will empower both home cooks and professional chefs to create more compassionate, healthful, and flavorful cuisine.




Umami


Book Description

In the West, we have identified only four basic tastesÑsour, sweet, salty, and bitterÑthat, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the past century, an additional flavor has entered the culinary lexicon: umami, a fifth taste impression that is savory, complex, and wholly distinct. Combining culinary history with recent research into the chemistry, preparation, nutrition, and culture of food, Mouritsen and Styrb¾k encapsulate what we know to date about the concept of umami, from ancient times to today. Umami can be found in soup stocks, meat dishes, air-dried ham, shellfish, aged cheeses, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes, and it can enhance other taste substances to produce a transformative gustatory experience. Researchers have also discovered which substances in foodstuffs bring out umami, a breakthrough that allows any casual cook to prepare delicious and more nutritious meals with less fat, salt, and sugar. The implications of harnessing umami are both sensuous and social, enabling us to become more intimate with the subtleties of human taste while making better food choices for ourselves and our families. This volume, the product of an ongoing collaboration between a chef and a scientist, won the Danish national Mad+Medier-Prisen (Food and Media Award) in the category of academic food communication.




Umami


Book Description

This Open Access book covers the concept of umami, the unique taste imparted by the amino acid glutamate, was first described in 1908 by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo University. Over the past century, hundreds of studies have explored the mechanistic underpinnings of the taste, leading to the characterization of the umami taste receptor in 2002. How this fifth basic taste figures into nutrition and health, however, remains underexplored. Umami: Taste for Health provides an overview of the relationship between umami and human health. Authors explain how glutamate not only produces a characteristic oral sensation in the mouth but also functions as a signaling molecule to induce physiological responses. With the support of recent studies, the book demonstrates how the taste properties of umami make glutamate a promising substance to lower salt intake, promote satiation and support healthier aging. The text also covers practical culinary applications to increase umami flavor and practical usage of umami for promoting healthy eating. Provides an overview of the relationship between umami and human health; Explores the potential of glutamate to lower salt intake, promote satiation and support healthier aging; Covers practical culinary applications of umami flavor and practical usage of umami for promoting healthy eating.




Umami Bomb


Book Description

One of Food52's Best Cookbooks of Fall 2019 One of Epicurious' 12 Best Gift Ideas for the Vegetarian in Your Life “Umami Bomb is your go-to guide for infusing every meal with deliciousness....Thanks to Raquel’s clever ideas and the abundant flavor in her smart, streamlined recipes, this book is set to become a kitchen classic.” —Lindsay Maitland Hunt, author of Healthyish and Help Yourself Ingeniously built around the use of eight umami-rich ingredients—aged cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, miso, caramelized onions, smoke, and nutritional yeast—Umami Bomb's 75 recipes are bursting with the sublime, savory fifth taste—and they're vegetarian! Turn mushrooms into “lardons” for a bold take on Southern black-eyed peas and greens. Caramelize onions to use in the best grilled cheese ever. Add a secret spoonful of soy sauce to the frosting of your next chocolate cake—the soy taste disappears but leaves behind an unexpected depth of flavor. Part of the brilliance of Umami Bomb is how the recipes layer these key ingredients to amplify their effect—like adding miso to an already cheesy cacio e pepe sauce for pasta so savory and delicious you’ll do a double take. Umami Bomb "addresses the “depth” issue for vegetarian cooks with a love letter to umami... [Pelzel's] insanely next-level grilled cheese recipe deploys two umami bombs — miso and caramelized onions — and, dare I say, is as satisfyingly decadent as a burger." —Jenny Rosenstrach, A Cup of Jo




How to Taste


Book Description

This engaging and approachable (and humorous!) guide to taste and flavor will make you a more skilled and confident home cook How to Taste outlines the underlying principles of taste, and then takes a deep dive into salt, acid, bitter, sweet, fat, umami, bite (heat), aromatics, and texture. You'll find out how temperature impacts your enjoyment of the dishes you make as does color, alcohol, and more. The handbook goes beyond telling home cooks what ingredients go well together or explaining cooking ratios. You'll learn how to adjust a dish that's too salty or too acidic and how to determine when something might be lacking. It also includes recipes and simple kitchen experiments that illustrate the importance of salt in a dish, or identifies whether you're a "supertaster" or not. Each recipe and experiment highlights the chapter's main lesson. How to Taste will ultimately help you feel confident about why and how various components of a dish are used to create balance, harmony, and deliciousness.




Flavor of Meat and Meat Products


Book Description

Flavour is an important sensory aspect of the overall acceptability of meat products. Whether we accept or reject a food depends primarily on its flavour. Both desirable and undesirable flavour effects are contemplated. Furthermore, threshold values of different flavour-active compounds have an important effect on the cumulative sensory properties of all foods. Meat from different species constitutes a major source of protein for most people. Although raw meat has little flavour and only a blood-like taste, it is a rich reservoir of non-volatile compounds with taste-tactile properties as well as flavour enhancers and aroma precursors. Non-vola tile water-soluble precursors and lipids influence the flavour of meat from different species. In addition, mode of heat processing and the nature of additives used may have a profound effect on the flavour of prepared meats. This book reports the latest advancements in meat flavour research. Following a brief overview, chapters 2 to 5 discuss flavours from different species of meat, namely beef, pork, poultry and mutton. In chapters 6 to 12 the role of meat constituents and processing on flavour are described. The final section of the book (chapters 13 to 15) summarizes analytical methodologies for assessing the flavour quality of meats. I wish to thank all the authors for their cooperative efforts and com mendable contributions which have made this publication possible.




Taste Matters


Book Description

The human tongue has somewhere up to eight thousand taste buds to inform us when something is sweet, salty, sour, or bitter—or as we usually think of it—delicious or revolting. Tastes differ from one region to the next, and no two people’s seem to be the same. But why is it that some people think maple syrup is too sweet, while others can’t get enough? What makes certain people love Roquefort cheese and others think it smells like feet? Why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap? John Prescott tackles this conundrum in Taste Matters, an absorbing exploration of why we eat and seek out the foods that we do. Prescott surveys the many factors that affect taste, including genetic inheritance, maternal diet, cultural traditions, and physiological influences. He also delves into what happens when we eat for pleasure instead of nutrition, paying particularly attention to affluent Western societies, where, he argues, people increasingly view food selection as a sensory or intellectual pleasure rather than a means of survival. As obesity and high blood pressure are on the rise along with a number of other health issues, changes in the modern diet are very much to blame, and Prescott seeks to answer the question of why and how our tastes often lead us to eat foods that are not the best for our health. Compelling and accessible, this timely book paves the way for a healthier and more sustainable understanding of taste.