How science came to understand umami

MSG was first isolated from seaweed in Japan in 1908

The compound monosodium glutamate has been identified in dairy, meats and vegetables, and provides an "umami"—Japanese for "tasty"—flavor to food. Studies in the late 1960s characterized MSG as harmful, but only when testing doses hundreds of times greater than what would be consumed in a typical diet.

Umami synergy—combining glutamates and nucleotides—can amplify a meal

While glutamates are known for triggering the umami taste through specific taste receptors, nucleotides like IMP and GMP can bind alongside glutamates to enhance the receptor's response. This union explains why certain classic food combinations like bacon and eggs taste exceptionally savory.

The research that led to sour

Scientists are trying to figure out if there are unique receptors that respond to the molecules that make up flavors we associate with calcium, blood, batteries, and other items that often escape dinner menus. Taste researcher Dr. Danielle Reed says the minimum evidence for a taste category typically involves identifying dedicated receptors and then removing them to show the taste vanishes.

Ammonium may be the sixth basic taste

Researchers have proposed various candidates for the sixth official taste, including "fat." But research published in 2023 posits that ammonium should be considered the sixth taste since they found humans can apparently detect ammonium chloride, which the scientists describe as "bitter, salty, and a little sour." Detecting ammonia could be a survival mechanism to help detect when certain foods, including seafood, are no longer safe to eat. The work hinged on experiments with human cells exposed to ammonium chloride as well as rodent research.

The history of molecular gastronomy, from thickening yolks with alcohol to making art with food

Before understanding why they worked, humans used scientific principles, including designing solutions and analyzing outcomes, to develop preservation methods like curing meat and fermenting vegetables. By the 20th century, the application of industrialized food preparation to smaller kitchens set the stage for the subdiscipline of food science.

Many parts of the body, including the testicles, have bitter, sweet, and umami receptors

Taste receptors—the tiny cells that report the chemical makeup of external stimuli to the brain—in the testicles don't "taste" in the same way as the gustatory ones you use to determine if there's enough sugar in your tea. Research suggests that these "teste" receptors can sense bitter, sweet, and umami compounds and use that chemical input to control physiological processes or (literally) change direction. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

A timeline of the science of taste discoveries

The tongue is made up of four types of papillae—elevated, nipple-like projections that give the organ its rough texture. In the early 1900s, initial research into the tongue's varying taste sensitivity led to a misleading map of the tongue and its taste regions. Over the decades, researchers fleshed out five distinct tastes (and more recently, a sixth).

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Ketchup, 101

Ketchup is a tomato-based condiment mixed with vinegar, salt, and spices. The word likely originates from Southeast Asia, where it was used for a common fish brine sauce in the 18th century. For a brief period in the early 19th century, ketchup was viewed and marketed as a medicine. Henry John Heinz formulated a standard recipe in the late 1800s.

Explaining why salt should be used to season food early in the cooking process

Experiments involving the same dishes, with salt added at the start of cooking versus at the end, have been shown to yield drastically different taste outcomes because salt takes time to diffuse into foods, particularly vegetables, whose cells are surrounded by cellular membranes and walls. Salting at the end will produce a concentrated surface coating, rather than even seasoning.

Aspartame was a surprise discovery from a lab working on gastric ulcers

As with saccharin and cyclamate, the aspartame discovery arose from its discoverer tasting something sweet from his workplace. In 1965, American chemist James Schlatter licked a white powder off his finger as he picked up a piece of paper and was startled to discover it tasted sweet. He applied for a patent for the substance, and received it in 1970. It is now one of the most popular artificial sweeteners. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The rice in sushi wasn't originally intended to be eaten

In Southeast Asia in the third century, rice, mixed with salt, was used to preserve fish for several months. The rice was considered too salty to eat and was often thrown away, though adventurous eaters, over time, began eating the rice. In 16th-century Japan, rice was often mixed with vinegar rather than salt, a practice that eventually led to the modern version of sushi. “Sushi” roughly translates to “vinegared rice.”

Barbecue relies on a unique scientific equation

Barbecue's distinct flavor starts with an interaction between the heat source and food, which creates a Maillard Reaction—better known to diners as those crunchy, caramelized bits on the outside.

A delicious flavor used to be made from a beaver’s butt

Love vanilla-flavored foods? Well, it was once made from castoreum - a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. And the FDA regards castoreum as “natural flavoring."

Watch a Japanese chef demonstrate how he prepares sushi

Tokyo's Naomichi Yasuda shows how he cuts tuna, wraps a maki roll, and assembles nigiri. In the process, he explains the proper way to enjoy the creations, offering advice for getting the most flavor.

Finding the way home through flavor

In the fall of 1996, 9-year-old Alvin Chang rushed into his family's kitchen to find his grandmother making his absolute favorite dish: kimchi. This interactive story follows Chang's yearslong attempt to recreate the flavor from his childhood home.

Why the Scoville scale for measuring a pepper's heat is outdated and inadequate for sauces

Developed in 1912 by American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the scale is a subjective test in which testers determine the dilution at which capsaicinoids—the molecules that give peppers their heat—are no longer detectable. Modern chemical analyses can accurately quantify the amount of these molecules in peppers, which are diluted to varying degrees in sauces, thus affecting their net spiciness.

Japanese scientists develop an eco-friendly plastic that dissolves in saltwater

The strong and flexible plastic is made from molecules held together by saltwater-sensitive chemical bonds. The components left after the plastic breaks down within hours contain phosphorus and nitrogen, allowing them to serve as soil fertilizer.

Intriguing facts about tomatoes

This episode of the Lunchbox Envy podcast dives deep into the world of tomatoes. Why do they taste nicer in certain settings? Do they "scream"? What are their health benefits? All of these questions and more are answered about the luscious red fruit. Listen and reflect on the historical and cultural significance of the tomato.

Muted smell and taste in microgravity complicate meal enjoyment

Astronauts primarily consume freeze-dried meals, which are rehydrated with water recycled from urine and perspiration, directly from bags. Condiments and select cultural items from crew members can enhance the meal experience by boosting flavor. Many individuals report experiencing "food fatigue" due to a lack of fresh produce, limited menu variety, and lingering scents.

Why is there a Vitamin K but no Vitamin F?

The first vitamin was identified in 1913 by an American scientist performing rat studies while investigating dairy cattle nutritional needs. Elmer Vernon McCollum called this first vitamin, found in butter and egg yolk, "fat-soluble factor A." This...

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

The hormone that spreads love and helps fish share fear

Scientists consider emotions like fear and empathy to be among the oldest evolutionary behaviors observed in mammals. Yet to date, how these reactions are processed in the brain, regardless of species, is not well understood. A new study reveals how the chemical oxytocin—known as the "love hormone" in humans—helps let fish know when their friends are in danger.

Learn about the history of quarks, found deep in the heart of every atom

Independently theorized by American physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1964, experiments later showed that these particles come in six varieties, named up, down, top, bottom, charm, and strange. Combinations of these quarks, which are held together by mediators of the strong nuclear force—gluons—make up dozens of composite particles, including protons and neutrons in atoms.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

No one's sure why it's spelled 'sundae'

There are several different folktales explaining the origins of the popular ice cream dish and its curious name. One claims an enterprising pharmacy used chocolate syrup instead of soda, which was banned on Sundays. Another claims the dish's unique spelling was to avoid offending religious folks who might object to an unholy reference to the Sabbath.

JJ Schildkraut theorized depression is linked to brain chemical imbalances—in 1965

Schildkraut was one of the first to put forward this idea, which stemmed from lab animal research. A decade later, researchers published the first landmark paper on fluoxetine—better known by trade name Prozac—which increases serotonin levels in the brain.

Peptide research dates back to the late 1800s

Peptide science dates back to the late 1800s with some early peptide synthesis work, but peptides took off in the medical sphere after surgeon Frederick Banting and his colleague's isolation of insulin from dog pancreases in 1921.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.