At Home with Umami

Book excerpt: Explore the wonder and magic of the fantastic fifth taste with over 60 tantalizing recipes that take flavor to another dimension. Umami is the super-savory fifth basic taste. It is both ubiquitous and elusive, present but often unrecognized, and it has the extraordinary ability to enhance individual flavors, transporting dishes to another level. It is the taste that keeps on giving long after salty, sweet, bitter, and sour flavours are spent. Umami is a Japanese word that translates as ‘savoury deliciousness’, but it is far from a Far Eastern concept. It is absolutely universal and does not belong to any single culture—it can be shared, enjoyed and appreciated by all those in possession of a tongue. Everyone has experienced it—the salted anchovy that melts into the tomato of a pizza, the irresistible marriage of pancetta and Parmesan in a creamy spaghetti carbonara, or the rich, caramelized chorizo in a pan-fried calamari and chorizo salad. Once understood, umami is your best friend both in and out of the kitchen. Umami-rich ingredients will add magic to any dish, and make great cooks out of all of us. In this book, you’ll discover extraordinary new flavor combinations in dishes such as Steak Tagliata, Umami Rub and Garlic Pesto; Dark Chocolate and Orange Chilli Con Carne; and Sunshine Laksa with Crab, Snow Peas, and Millet. This book contains a taste of the wonder and magic of umami, and once bitten you will forever be smitten.