The taste umami in acorn fed Iberico ham
Umami is a Japanese word that means ‘tasty and flavoursome’. In Japan umami is considered the fifth flavour, a taste which is not salty, sweet, sour or bitter. This new flavour was discovered by the Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908.
Ikeda was a professor at the Imperial University of Tokio, and when he was studying the famous Japanese soup called dashi, made with the kombu algae, he observed that its flavour could not be classified as any of the ones known up to date. By combining the words ‘umai’ – delicious, and ‘mi’ – flavour, he minted the term umami.
Prof. Ikeda realized that the amino acid glutamate was responsible for the delicious flavour of Kombu. He continued with his investigation and other substances in some foods were also classified as umami.
Umami is a subtle but persistent flavour that makes us salivate and leaves a velvety sensation in our tongue, throat, palate and the back part of the mouth. Only when we eat something that we really like we get this pleasing physiological reaction.
The good news is that acorn fed Iberico ham is one of those foods that has the umami flavour, as a result of the glutamate which naturally occurs in the Iberico pigs. The concentration of this acid is quite low at the time of slaughter and when curing, but after airing and ageing the concentration of the amino acid glutamate in the hams increases notably, thus creating the most appreciated Spanish delicatessen. Our palates know what’s right!
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