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• by:
• Kasabian, Anna and Kasabian, David

Asians have used it for centuries. Scientists have debated it for decades. And now in-the-know American chefs are cooking with it like crazy. It's umami, the fifth taste, and it's the key that unlocks the secret to the most delicious food you can cook at home.

What is umami? It's another basic taste, like sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. But it's not an ordinary taste. Umami is that rich, savory, extra-satisfying taste of mushrooms, steak, cheese, oysters, and red wine- just a few of the many foods loaded with umami. Umami is a quick and easy way to boost flavor dramatically by waking up taste buds you never knew you had. And that's why umami is about to conquer the food world. Last year reports on umami appeared in the New York Times, Saveur, Wine Spectator, Food and Wine, The New Yorker, and numerous other publications.

The Fifth Taste is the first book that shows how simple it is to select and combine umami-rich ingredients for more delicious, satisfying meals, bursting with fresh, clean, natural flavors. It features more than fifty umami-rich recipes from twenty-five top American chefs and food experts, including Daniel Boulud, Christopher Kimball, Nobu Matsuhisa, Steven Raichlen, and Ming Tsai.