I’m baaaaccckkk! Our family just came back from a two week vacation, hence the lack of new posts.  Anyway, being on vacation kind of inspired me to try and make new things. Even though our trip was packed with “kids friendly” activities, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t get anything out of them. Among the many places we visited, we went to the Naturalis in Leiden, just because my son is a geek.

As I was bored out of my mind (thank goodness they have Wi-Fi), I saw the kids tasting stuff when they were in the Supersenses exhibition. (I thought, hey there’s food). One of the exhibit allows you to try all the different tastes. Lo and behold, I found Umami among the other common tastes. (It turned out that they only have liquid tasting drops, no food after all).

Wikipedia defines Umami as a pleasant savory taste.  People taste umami through receptors for glutamate, commonly found in its salt form as the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG). For that reason, scientists consider umami to be distinct from saltiness. 

The first thing I made when we got home is the Umami powder. After browsing for Umami powder recipes, I found that there are many different recipes out there (using different ingredients).

Here is my version of Umami powder:

 Ingredients:

• 2 handful of Dried Porcini Mushrooms (more or less)
• 1 Tbsp of Dried shrimp 
• 1 tsp of Garlic Powder 
• 1/2 tsp of Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp of Red Crushed Pepper
• Salt (to taste)

Directions:

• Put all the ingredients in a grinder (except for the salt), and grind until everything is powdery and well blended.

• Add your salt while tasting and stirring until you find your desired saltiness.

• Transfer to airtight container.

Note:

• You can use more crushed pepper if you like your umami powder on the spicier side.
• I add the salt after I blend everything else to avoid the umami powder being too salty. I started with 1/2 tsp of salt and worked my way up from there until I found the desired saltiness.
• Not all salt are created equal, I found that the pink crystals himalayan salt saltier than regular table salt. So, use your salt accordingly.
• You can also use dried Shiitake mushrooms, Bonito flakes, Anchovies, Kombu and/or Nori (seaweed wrap).
• You can sprinkle the umami powder on literally anything. For example, you can use it on eggs, fish, meats, sauces, vegetables and lots of other stuff.