And Finally... Revolutionary cooking ingredient in UK soon (apparently)

By James Shepherd on Feb 10, 10 09:23 AM in Entertainment

An oriental puree which is set to revolutionise British home cooking hits store shelves next week.

Umami - dubbed the fifth taste - was unearthed in Japan more than a century ago and harnesses the natural flavour of foods such as beef, chicken, tuna, prawns and cod. For years it has been a secret ingredient in the kitchens of top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal.

Now, for the first time, it is being made available to ordinary shoppers for just £2.99 and promises to enhance the taste of everything from shepherd's pie to pasta.

It has been created for the UK market by food writer Laura Santtini and includes porcini mushrooms, anchovies, Parmesan cheese, black olives, garlic and tomatoes. It is being marketed as Taste No5 - a reference to claims that it joins the four basic human tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

Umami was first discovered 102 years ago by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda, who identified it as a crucial flavour in foodstuffs rich in glutamate.

It led him to create monosodium glutamate, the flavour enhancer which became a staple for Chinese takeaways.

From Monday Waitrose will become the first UK store chain to sell it.

The supermarket's John Vine said: "This is a great product. It will help cooks at all levels as well as being the perfect complement to any kitchen.

"It's an innovation and we're proud to be the first supermarket to stock it."