You know,'' said my colleague, a fairly knowledgeable sort on all things related (and not related) to food, "they have discovered a new taste''.
"No, I do not know,'' I confessed, a trifle sheepish that I had not kept abreast of the latest happenings in the culinary world. "But who are the 'they'?'' I asked her, just to make sure "they" was not somebody who had tasted the food in the office canteen.
"Oh, they are the guys in the US who keep discovering new flavours and new culinary trends,'' she said, flourishing a newspaper report in my face.
OK, so apart from sweet, sour, salty and bitter there was something new, huh? One moment the guys who keep discovering things discover that Pluto is no longer a planet and the next moment they discover a new taste in the culinary horizon.
"So, what does this new taste, well, taste like?'' I asked her. "And what is it called?''
"Ahem, you may have been tasting it all your life,'' she said, attempting to pique my interest further, then added, "Don't you enjoy meat-based dishes?''
"Of course, I do,'' I said. You see, I am convinced mutton biryani is the best dish in the world and would not complain if it is served to me every single day ... OK, every alternate day.
"Then you must have tasted umami,'' she said.
"No,'' I replied, "I really haven't tasted that dish.''
See, I have been a bit around the world, and have sampled a lot of odd-sounding dishes, but I was sure I was never served umami at any restaurant. And my wife has definitely never cooked umami at home, I told her.
"Silly,'' she said, "Umami is not a dish. It's a taste. It's the new taste which can be described as meaty ... brothy ... It is a Japanese word that means savoury. It is a taste you experience when you eat meat, cheese ... any protein-rich food,'' she went on.
"You know what MSG is, don't you?'' she asked, half mockingly, then continued: "Haven't you ever wondered why food sprinkled MSG tastes, umm, better or fuller? Well,'' she said "it's the umami receptors on your tongue which are responsible for this.''
Lip-smacking sizzlers
We, a small group of friends and I, were at a restaurant famous for its lip-smacking sizzlers and I was lucky to find myself seated next to the pretty young thing, a friend of a friend. The setting could not be better, I thought. Good food, a good-looking companion ...
As soon as the spluttering, crackling, heavenly-smelling platters were placed before us I began to dig into mine. And was it yummy!
The succulent, juicy slab of tender meat was cooked to just the right doneness, the veggies were crisp, the flavours were delectable ... This, I said to myself, would be just the right moment to show off my newly-acquired knowledge of cuisine.
"How's your sizzler?'' I asked her. "It's ...'' she paused to put down her fork, but I did not allow her to complete her sentence.
"I think it's tasting really umami, huh?'' I volunteered, hoping she would ask me to explain all about this new taste.
"I agree,'' she said, then putting on an air of a know-it-all she said: "Neither did I like it.''
