Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Fifth Taste Bud

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by Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom


Let’s talk about taste buds. You might know there are four “basic” tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. But did you know there’s another? It’s time to discover the “fifth taste bud,” called umami (oo-mommy)! Umami is the taste that is described as savory, or meaty – and there are loads of foods that stimulate this tasty bud. If you’re looking for easy ways to boost the flavor of your foods, read on!

No chemistry lesson here, but when you eat, certain flavors within food stimulate taste bud sensors (called receptors) on your tongue, and send a message to your brain that you’ve tasted something. There are thousands of these all over your tongue, just waiting for flavorful foods. And highly flavored foods have been suggested to help support fullness with fewer calories eaten – a huge potential help to dieters.

Here are some top foods to make those umami taste buds jump! And you can eat them alone, or use them as flavor enhancers.

- Tomatoes
- Parmesan Cheese
- Mushrooms
- Soy Sauce
- Anchovies

Try a grating of parmesan cheese (with about 10 calories per teaspoon) on fresh or frozen veggies for a flavorful treat. Add some mushrooms to any soup, or salad. While soy sauce is a high sodium choice, try the reduced sodium variety in salad dressings and marinades, as well as for sushi. And anchovies don’t have to be fishy; put one or two in a marinara sauce, and they melt in, to enhance flavor, with no fishy taste or smell. Tomatoes are a major umami-rich food – but stick with canned varieties, except in the summer months, when the flavor is most developed.

I hope you give it a try! Let me know your experiences with the fifth taste bud!!

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