Possible Applications of Umami Taste to Improve Eating Disorders

Abstract

The pleasant sensory qualities of the traditionalWestern cuisine derives mainly from animal fat,whereas traditional Japanese cuisine contains lessfat and relies more on “dashi” (Japanese broth) toenhance food palatability. At the beginning of the20th century, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda noticed that anunidentified taste quality, distinct from the four ba-sic tastes (sweetness, saltiness, sourness and bitter-ness), was present in palatable foods. He found thistaste most clearly in soups rich in “dashi” preparedfrom Japanese sea tangle (