Recently, Brazil has seen a rising interest in elaborate cooking and innovative new ingredients and techniques, as a result of the growing popularity of gourmet food and progress in the technical skills of leading chefs at work today. According to Mara Salles, a chef who specializes in Brazilian cuisine, gastronomy in Brazil is evolving steadily and there is now great huge interest in diverse cuisines. “Gastronomy is not just about satisfying hunger,” she explains. “It’s also very much about discovering and exploring of new sensations”. Listening to Mara, it is clear that, for her, the umami taste has a vital role to play in bringing otherwise unlike combinations of ingredients together, resulting in even more delicious dishes.

Mara began her research into umami after attending an Umami Symposium in 2006. “It made me understand that some foods are a rich natural source of umami”, she explains. Umami has great potential in Brazilian food which, as Mara tells us, has one very distinct characteristic: “While French cuisine appreciates the aroma above all else, Arabian the strength, and Japanese the healthfulness, the first priority in Brazilian cuisine is the taste. We value food with bold flavors more than aesthetically pleasing dishes”. Whilst each country’s cuisine has its own defining feature, together they share one common trait: each has traditionally used umami to differentiate itself from other national cuisines. Although research on this significant culinary resource has only begun recently, umami today continues to be used by chefs who combine umami-rich ingredients according to their individual perception.

As far as Mara is concerned, familiarity with and use of umami is the mark of a knowledgeable chef. “Umami is a new issue that has caught the attention of culinary professionals”, she says. At her lectures on umami, too, she is careful to point out to attendees just how important it is to understand umami properly. “I try to show people how they can make foods that are rich with the umami taste,” she concludes.