17 December 2018

umami

[oo-mah-mee]

noun

a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids: often considered to be one of the basic taste sensations along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Origin of umami

1975–80; < Japanese: savory quality, delicious taste

Dictionary.com

Contemporary Examples

This unsmoked, wet-cured ham is the sine qua non of Parisian butcher shops: a light, ephemeral meat, sweet but umami.
Easter’s Top Five Hams
Mark Scarbrough
March 30, 2010

If “umami” was recently accepted into the lexicon…maybe “tomato-ey” isn’t that far behind.
The Only Food That Matters
Katie Workman
August 18, 2009

Today’s quote

Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.

– Simone de Beauvoir

On this day

17 December 1770 – baptism of Ludwig von Beethoven, German composer. One of the world’s most influential composers. He composed 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatos and 16 string quartets. Died 26 March 1827.

17 December 1903 – Orville and Wilbur Wright makes the world’s first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight.

17 December 2010 – death of Don Van Vliet, American singer, songwriter, musician and artist, best known as Captain Beefheart. He used a rotating ensemble of musicians, called the Magic Band. Beefheart’s music was very avant-garde, blending jazz, psychedelia, blues and rock. He was friends with Frank Zappa and sometimes collaborated with him. His experimental and unrestrained style of music complimented Zappa’s often experimental but highly disciplined work. English DJ, John Peel, describe Captain Beefheart as, ‘a psychedelic shaman who frequently bullied his musicians and sometimes alarmed his fans, Don somehow remained one of rock’s great innocents‘. Born 15 January 1941.