Yes, you read that correct – FIVE taste buds. Scientists really found a fifth taste to go with the four we all learned in elementary school (sweet, salty, sour and bitter). Since the early 1900s, scientists thought there were only four tastes in this world; sweet, salty, sour and bitter. However, in 1908, a scientist in Tokyo named Kikunae Ikeda identified another taste while researching a distinct flavor in a seeweed broth. He tracked the chemical responsible, monosodium glutamate, also called MSG and even began to market it. He named this taste umami after the Japanese word for “yummy” or “delicious.” It took about 100 years, but Ikeda was finally proved right. In 2002, after extensive research, Umami was officially added as the fifth taste. So now when you are eating foods like steak, carrots, parmesan cheese or oysters, you’ll know that your tongue is relishing in the taste of umami.

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