Perceptions

Of the 20 free amino acids present in breast milk, glutamate is the one that presents itself in greater quantity, representing more than 50% of the total free amino acids. Its presence can interfere with the acceptability of taste for newborns.

The three main substances responsible for umami - glutamate, inosinate and guanylate - are naturally present in different foods, in varying amounts. We can find the fifth taste inParmesan cheeses, fish, tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, breast milk and monosodium glutamate.Tomato is the main Umami food in the vegetable group. The next time you taste it, you will notice that right after the perception of the sweet and sour taste, a third taste remains - Umami. In bolognese sauce, for example, which combines tomato and meat, the fifth taste intensifies and can be even more pronounced when added with Parmesan cheese - another very umami Food.

One of the biggest benefits ofumami taste is to promote the production of saliva, essential for someconditions that cause dry mouth and to guarantee pleasure when eating.
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Between 60 and 70 years of age, the decrease in taste perception is more pronounced. With reduced pleasure at mealtimes, it is common for the elderly to also decrease the amount of food eaten. Over time, this reduction can cause some health problems. Adding Umami-rich foods to the elderly's diet helps make meals more tasty and thus increases food intake in old age.

Unfortunately, patients undergoing certain types of cancer treatments experience changes in saliva production - called xerostomia or "dry mouth". The waves of radiotherapy, for example, damage the tissue of the salivary glands, which consequently reduce production. Meanwhile, the drugs used during chemotherapy can lead to the production of thicker saliva, causing the sensation of dryness as a side effect. 

Such problems can directly influence patients' nutrition, as they make it difficult to eat and digest food. In addition, it is very common for the debilitated patient not to feel like eating. But, when they do not eat properly, they do not strengthen the organism that is already fragile, and may even harm the treatment. That's whereUmami comes in and all the "power" of the fifth taste.

Taste refers only to the sense of taste. Specific receptors present on the tongue recognize a particular stimulus provided by substances present in food. The taste of food is recognized by the combination of two or more senses: the TASTE (which refers to taste) + the SMELL (which refers to the aroma of food). 

Four basic tastes are clearly recognized by key foods, that is, salty is represented by salt, sweet by sugar, bitter by coffee, sour by vinegar; but what about the fifth taste, where is it present? We can find the fifth taste in Parmesan cheeses, fish, tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, breast milk and monosodium glutamate.

When we start to explore our taste buds, it is inevitable to come across umami and, from there, reach monosodium glutamate (also called MSG). Some people then begin to treat the two as the same thing, but there are basic conceptual differences between one and the other. 

Umami, like sweet, salty, sour and bitter, is a taste perceived by our palate - and it was discovered and scientifically proven after the other four, it is called "fifthtaste". 

Monosodium glutamate can also be called glutamate salt, and is used in cooking to enhance the Umami taste of food. Its manufacturing process consists of the fermentation of sugarcane to obtain glutamic acid, the main component of the amino acid responsible for the fifth taste. This acid is neutralized, obtaining monosodium glutamate, used to enrich the preparations in the kitchen. To explain in practice: if we put sugar in food to emphasize its sweetness and salt to accentuate the salty, monosodium glutamate serves Umami for the same purpose.