Our first taste of umami
Mother’s milk is full of umami
The graph below shows the levels of free amino acids found in human breast milk (when the baby is seven days old), cow’s milk (when the calf is seven days old) and ichiban dashi made from kombu and katsuobushi (as made at one of Kyoto’s historic ryotei restaurants). In the human milk, glutamate is the most common, accounting for over half of the entire free amino acid content. In comparison, the levels of glutamate present in cow’s milk are extremely low. What is more, human milk (when the baby is seven days old) also contains another umami substance, the nucleotide inocinate, at a level of 0.3mg/100ml. In this way, babies first encounter umami in their mother’s milk, and at levels that are comparable with the umami found in ichiban dashi. (Incidentally, the histidine that is abundant in ichiban dashi is an amino acid found in bonito, and is said to impart the stock with a subtle acidity and depth.)
Umami in the Amniotic fluid
Amniotic fluid also contains the umami substance glutamate, at levels of 2.2mg/100ml. These levels are lower than for breast milk, but it seems that even before birth, babies experience umami.
Which tastes do babies like?
The four images below show the reactions of babies after tasting umami, sweet, sour and bitter. As you can see, they display a happy expression after tasting something sweet, while they screw up their faces after consuming sour and bitter tasting foods. After consuming umami, meanwhile, in the form of vegetable soup with monosodium glutamate added, they display a calm face similar to that when having consumed something sweet. Thus, babies too can recognise different tastes, including umami. The taste and aroma of breast milk is influenced by the taste and aroma of food consumed by the mother. Through its mother’s milk, the baby can experience a wider world of taste.
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