Umami Characteristics and Taste Improvement Mechanism of Meat

Abstract

Taste is one of the five senses that detect vital information about what we are eating. Comprehending taste is crucial for enhancing the flavor of foodstuffs and high-protein foods like meat. Umami has global recognition as the fifth elementary taste, alongside sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness. Umami compounds are known to enhance the sensation of recognized flavors such as salty, sweet, bitter, and others. This could end up in greater food consumption by consumption by consumers. With the rising global population, meat consumption is rising and is projected to double by 2025. It is crucial to comprehend the umami mechanism of meat and meat products, identify novel compounds, and employ laboratory methodologies to gather varied information. This knowledge will aid in the development of new consumer products. Although very limited information is available on umami taste and compounds in meat through research data. This article discusses recent advancements in umami compounds in other foodstuff as well as meat to aid in designing future research and meat product development. Moreover, another objective of this review is to learn present techniques in foodstuffs to enhance umami taste and utilize that knowledge in meat products.

Keywords: meat; taste; umami compounds; umami mechanism; umami taste.

Fig. 1.. Evolution of umami taste (Bartoshuk, 2012; Kodama, 1913; Kuninaka, 1960; Nakajima, 1961; Yamaguchi and Ninomiya, 1998).

Fig. 2.. Umami reception site in tongue.

Fig. 3.. Potential benefits of umami compounds (Kubota et al., 2018; Magerowski et al., 2018; Miyaki et al., 2016; Nakayama et al, 2016; Noel et al., 2018; Onuma et al., 2018).

Fig. 4.. Effect of umami compounds on other tastes (Bartelme, 2016; Fuke and Ueda, 1996; Kim et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2017; Linscott and Lim, 2016; Maruji et al., 2010; Nishimura et al., 2016).