Umami: Kikunae Ikeda and the Discovery of the Fifth Taste

How a Japanese chemist's curiosity about a bowl of dashi gave the world a new word for savory deliciousness.

Published October 20, 2026 at 2:49 PM JST | By Tokyo Paul

Quick answer: Umami is the fifth basic taste, alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and it was identified in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. Working at Tokyo Imperial University, he traced the savory depth of kombu seaweed broth to glutamate and named the taste umami, which roughly means delicious flavor. The term was formally recognized internationally in 1985.

Ask a chef to describe the taste of ripe tomatoes, aged cheese or a good bowl of ramen broth, and the word umami is likely to come up. It has become so familiar that many people forget it began as a scientific discovery made in Japan little more than a century ago. This guide tells the story of Kikunae Ikeda, explains how umami is understood today, and shows how to find and enjoy it in everyday cooking.

What is umami?

Umami is the savory taste that makes food feel rich, satisfying and full of depth. The word comes from Japanese and is often translated as a delicious or pleasant savory taste. It sits beside sweet, sour, salty and bitter as one of the five basic tastes that people can recognize.

Unlike the other four, umami often works as a quiet background note that makes a dish feel complete rather than standing out on its own. It appears in broths, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheeses, meats and fish. Because it connects flavors so smoothly, it plays a central role in Japanese cuisine, where dashi is the foundation of many dishes.

Who was Kikunae Ikeda?

Kikunae Ikeda was a Japanese chemist and a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. He graduated in chemistry from the university in 1889, became a full professor there in 1901, and spent about two years in Leipzig, Germany, in the laboratory of the chemist Wilhelm Ostwald. His career combined careful laboratory science with a keen curiosity about everyday life.

Ikeda is remembered for turning an ordinary experience, enjoying a good bowl of soup, into an important scientific question. His work connected the traditions of Japanese cooking with modern chemistry. In 1985 the Japan Patent Office named him one of the Ten Japanese Great Inventors, in recognition of his lasting impact.

How did Ikeda discover umami?

Ikeda discovered umami by studying the flavor of dashi, the stock made from kombu seaweed. He noticed that the delicious depth of the broth did not fit neatly into sweet, sour, salty or bitter. He wondered what caused it, and he began to research kombu in his laboratory.

In 1908 he isolated glutamic acid from the seaweed and concluded that this compound produced the distinctive savory taste. He chose the name umami, built from Japanese words for delicious and taste. The discovery showed that a flavor Japanese cooks had enjoyed for generations had a clear chemical explanation.

What is dashi, and why is it central to umami?

Dashi is a clear Japanese stock, and it is the classic showcase for umami. The most common version is made from kombu, a kind of kelp, and katsuobushi, which are dried, smoked and shaved bonito flakes. Together they give soups, simmered dishes and sauces a savory base without heavy fat.

Kombu is rich in glutamate, the compound Ikeda identified. Katsuobushi contains a different umami compound, and the two ingredients work together to create a flavor that is greater than either alone. This is one reason Japanese home cooks and chefs treat dashi as a foundation, and why miso soup, noodle broths and many simmered dishes taste so comforting.

What other umami compounds were found later?

Researchers after Ikeda found that glutamate is not the only umami compound. In 1913, one of his students, Shintaro Kodama, identified inosinate, also called IMP, in dried bonito flakes. In 1957, Akira Kuninaka linked guanylate, or GMP, to the savory taste of dried shiitake mushrooms.

Kuninaka also showed that glutamate and these nucleotides combine in a synergistic way, so a mixture tastes much stronger than the sum of its parts. This explains why kombu and bonito flakes are so powerful together, and why a mushroom and kombu broth feels so full. Cooks around the world now use the same principle when pairing foods like tomatoes with cheese or mushrooms with meat.

What is the story of Ajinomoto?

Ajinomoto is the company that grew out of Ikeda's work. In 1909, Ikeda and the businessman Saburosuke Suzuki founded the company to produce monosodium glutamate, a seasoning that delivers umami in a concentrated form. The name Ajinomoto means "essence of taste."

The seasoning became a widely used kitchen staple in Japan and later around the world, and the company is now one of the best-known food makers in Asia. Many people see it as a clear example of science and daily life coming together. Whatever your own cooking preferences, the story shows how a laboratory discovery can reach family kitchens.

When did the world recognize umami as a basic taste?

The wider world recognized umami as a distinct taste in stages. In 1985, the first International Symposium on Umami was held in Hawaii, and the term umami was accepted as the scientific name for the taste of glutamates and nucleotides. This helped researchers and chefs share a common vocabulary.

Later research added more evidence. Scientists identified umami receptors on the tongue in 2000, and in 2006 they found receptors in the stomach as well. The main receptor is a complex known as TAS1R1 and TAS1R3, which responds to glutamate and related compounds. These findings confirmed that umami has its own biological basis, just as the other tastes do.

Which foods are rich in umami?

Many familiar foods are naturally rich in umami. Ripe tomatoes, aged cheeses such as Parmesan, mushrooms, shellfish, fish, cured meats and fermented seasonings like soy sauce and fish sauce are all examples. In Japanese cooking, kombu, katsuobushi, dried shiitake, miso and soy sauce are everyday umami sources.

Combining these foods is a simple way to build flavor. A bowl of ramen, a pot of miso soup or a tomato sauce with mushrooms all rely on layers of umami. Cooks who understand the idea can build satisfying, well-rounded meals simply by pairing the right ingredients.

How can you enjoy umami in daily life?

You can enjoy umami by making dashi at home, choosing flavorful ingredients and layering them thoughtfully. Soaking a piece of kombu in water and adding bonito flakes for a short time is a gentle way to make a basic stock. Adding mushrooms, tomatoes or a splash of soy sauce to a dish can add the same savory quality.

Visitors to Japan can taste umami in many ways, from a simple bowl of miso soup to a refined multi-course meal. Food halls and traditional shops sell dried kombu, bonito flakes and dashi packs that make good souvenirs. Tasting the same ingredients in a restaurant and at home shows how closely culture and science are connected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who discovered umami?

Umami was discovered by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908. He was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University and traced the savory taste of kombu broth to glutamic acid. He named the taste umami and, with Saburosuke Suzuki, founded the company Ajinomoto in 1909.

What does umami mean?

Umami is a Japanese word that roughly means a delicious savory taste. It is considered the fifth basic taste along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. People often describe it as a rich, mouth-filling depth found in foods such as dashi, mushrooms, tomatoes, aged cheese and soy sauce.

What foods have umami?

Foods rich in umami include kombu, dried bonito flakes, shiitake mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, Parmesan, fish, shellfish, meats, miso and soy sauce. Combining several of them, such as kombu with bonito flakes, makes the flavor even stronger, which is why dashi is the base of so many Japanese dishes.

Keep Exploring

More guides from Tokyo Paul: Katsuobushi: The Dancing Flakes of Smoked Bonito, Nori and Kombu: A Guide to Japanese Seaweed and Washoku: The UNESCO-Honored Heart of Japanese Cuisine.