Umami
Umami is the taste of deliciousness. It’s the mouthwatering savoriness we experience when we eat foods like dry-aged beef, parmesan cheese, and miso soup.
Chemically-speaking, umami is the taste of glutamate, an amino acid found naturally in many protein-rich foods. Through transformative processes like cooking, aging, and fermentation, proteins break down and release glutamate. This change is where the flavor of food deepens.
Umami isn’t the taste of raw beef. It’s the taste of grilled beef. It’s the gentle extraction of flavor from seaweed and bonito flakes to make dashi. Ripe tomatoes have more umami than unripe ones, and dried mushrooms have more umami than fresh, because their internal structures have broken down and developed.
Soy sauce, parmesan cheese, anchovies, fish sauce, miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi. Modest inputs like soybeans, milk, and cabbage, transformed by time and salt, become some of the most umami-rich foods in the kitchen.
One of our favorite ways to add a hit of umami is white soy sauce, or shiro shoyu. Whereas traditional shoyu is made from equal parts soy and wheat and undergoes a long fermentation, shiro shoyu is made mostly from wheat and fermented for only a few months. This makes it sweeter and lighter. It’s ideal for delicate preparations, like dressing salads or raw fish, where a traditional soy sauce would overpower, in terms of both flavor and color.
The techniques we use to build dishes with great depth of flavor are the same as those that create umami. We like to say there are no shortcuts for developing flavor, but stocking your pantry with umami-rich ingredients comes pretty close. The work is already done. Try adding them when you need a boost of intensity and taste all that deliciousness!
We’re glad you’re cooking with us.
Cheers,
Sten and Mac
Chef Snacks
Aster Pantry’s Meal Plan
The launch is almost here! Signups are open! Sign up by this Friday, May 9 and get 75% off your first month with code FRIENDS&FAMILY75. Plan No. 1 drops in your inbox on Friday, May 9! Tell your friends!
Purveyor Spotlight
The Japanese Pantry is our go-to for an expertly curated selection of the most delicious Japanese products. It is also where you can find our favorite white soy sauce.
Around the Sound
We still have a few tickets available for our summer Solstice Dinner at A&K Alder Farm. Want to spend the longest day of the year eating a multicourse meal in a beautiful orchard? Email us for more details!
A Quick Tuna Crudo Recipe
First, source some sashimi-grade fish. Conveniently, St. Jude sells vacuum-sealed albacore tuna loins online, at Seattle Farmer’s Markets, or at Wild Salmon Seafood Market located in Fisherman’s Terminal.
Thinly slice your tuna with a very sharp knife and arrange on a plate. Drizzle the tuna with white soy sauce and extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle it with togarashi (or furikake) and finely diced pickled ginger. Enjoy immediately.
