Tastes

bitter

Bitter - Although the bitterness associated with tasting alkaloids and other organic substances may occasionally be appreciated, such as when tasting chocolate or coffee, a bitter-flavored ingredient unbalanced by something sour or salty is gene rally disliked and, as a survival mechanism, is believed to se1ve as a warning of inedibility or unhealthfulness.

umami

In the past several years, many western researchers have begun to recognize a fifth taste, akin to the savory taste long recognized as the fifth taste in Japanese savory a food that is not sweet cuisine. Called 'um ami '(from the Japanese word umai, meaning "delicious"), this fifth taste does not have a simple English translation. Rather, for some people it refers to a food's savory characteristic; for others to the richness or fullness of a dish's overall taste, and still others, the meatiness or meaty taste of a dish. Taste buds sense umami in the presence of several substances, including the naturally occurring amino acid glutamate and its commercially produced counterpart known as monosodium glutamate (MSG).

salty

Salty - With the notable exception of oysters and other shellfish and seaweed, the presence of a salty taste in a food is the result of the cook's decision to acid the mineral sodium chloride, known as salt, or to use a previously salted ingredient such as salt-cured fish or soy sauce. Salt helps finish a dish, heightening or enhancing its other flavors. Dishes that lack salt often taste flat. Like the taste of sweetness, the less salt consumed on a regular bas is, the more saltiness we can detect in foods.

Sour

Sour - Considered the opposite of sweet, a sour taste is found in acidic foods and, like sweetness, can va1y greatly in intensity. Many foods with a dominant sour taste, such as reel currants or sour cream, will also contain a sec onda1y or slight sweetness. Often a sour taste can be improved by adding a little sweetness or negated by adding a large amount of a sweet ingredient.

Sweet

Sweet - For most people, sweetness is the most pleasurable and often sought after taste, although, ironically, the fewer sweet-tasting foods we consume, the more enhanced our ability to recognize sweetness becomes. A food's sweetness comes from the naturally occurring sugars it contains (for example, sucrose and fructose) or sweeteners added to it. This sweetness can sometimes be enhanced by adding a small amount of a sour, bitter or salty taste. Adding too much sourness, bitterness or saltiness, however, will lessen our perception of the food's sweetness.