Nattida Chotechuang
Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University
Cooking culture around the world differs and is dependent on which part of the world and what is available. Each area uses various traditional seasonings to add rich taste and flavor to their own dishes. Fermented soy beans and fish sauce, garum, were used since 200 BC in China and ancient Rome, respectively, to convey the umami taste. The umami taste, a pleasant savory taste imparted by substances such as glutamate, inosinate or guanylate, has been recognized globally as a fifth taste, a basic, independent taste different from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
In the past several years, in addition to the taste itself, glutamate-rich ingredients have been explored for their ability to enhance sensory properties. Fermented fish sauce, paste made from fish or shellfish plus salt and fermented beans products are rich in umami taste substances and have a long history of use in Japan, Korea, China and Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand. Concentrated extracts of umami-rich traditional seasoning are also used in recipes in many countries. The wide use of umami in daily dishes in Asian countries, including Thailand, is commonly produced by adding these fermented products and/or concentrated extracts as indispensable seasonings. These facts suggest the umami taste widely present in Asia and Thai food is one of the most important key ingredients of taste activity for universal deliciousness.
(Presented in the 2012 Asian Food Heritage Forum: Harmonizing Culture , Technology and Industry, 20-21 August 2012, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Chinese Dietary Culture Institute, Zhejiang Gongshang University, and Ministry of Culture, Thailand)