“Honey, taste the meat sauce – it’s missing something. Salt, you say? No, I don’t think it’s salt. Maybe pepper?”
We bet you’ve been in a situation similar to this. Sometimes it seems that no matter how much salt or other spices you add, the flavor still feels “flat.” Even if it tastes “good enough,” it still feels like something is missing. And you just can’t put your finger on what it is.
It’s most likely one or more of the six fundamental tastes.
Food should taste good – but why?
Most of us would probably agree that taste is very important for a meal.
In ancient times, eating was about survival and feeling full. Today, a meal is much more: It’s about enjoyment and experience. A meal is possibly the time when most of our senses are engaged.
Of course, what is perceived as tasty varies from person to person, but one of the levers you can pull to create deliciousness is the combination of the six fundamental tastes.
What are the six fundamental tastes?
To assist the chef in this complex system of taste buds, we can simplify it into six fundamental tastes:
Salty is necessary for our nervous system to function – not too little and not too much. Feel free to use sea salt, which, besides sodium chloride, also contains trace amounts of potassium, calcium, and magnesium salts.
Sour is related to salt – it’s a matter of pH. We tolerate acid and appreciate acid in appropriate amounts in our food, but alkaline food is toxic as it quickly causes burns. There are complex organic acids in our food, but they rarely taste as sour as vinegar or hydrochloric acid.
Sweet is related to fruits and starch, where we especially use granulated sugar (sucrose) in the kitchen and in ready meals, and it comes from sugarcane and -beets. However, natural fruits usually contain more glucose and fructose than sucrose, and they also provide basic nutrition with vitamins and carbohydrates.
Bitter is related to secondary plant substances, where we often use leaves and seeds as spices. There are many receptors for bitter substances, which is why chefs often use spice blends to give the dish a more complex flavor. Bitter substances are often antioxidants.
Umami (kokumi) is a protein flavor that is enhanced by dry-aged meat, fermented sausages, dashi, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Marmite®, among others. Protein is important for muscles and circulation.
Oleogustus is a fat taste that is enhanced by dry-aged meat, aged cheeses like Parmesan and other similar cheeses, crème fraîche (38%), lardo, among others. Fat is important both as a basic energy source and for the development of our brain and nerve tissue. The nutritionally important omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The brain consists largely of DHA.
A meal is only fully satisfying when all the fundamental tastes are present. When they are, the entire palette of our taste buds is satiated, and the brain will not subsequently try to convince you to rummage through the candy cupboard for chips, chocolate, or gummies.
The six fundamental tastes can be said to form the foundation for the perfect meal. If you truly master the art of combining these tastes, even the simplest meal can become phenomenal.
The six fundamental tastes
Real deliciousness arises when there is more or less balance between the six fundamental tastes. It’s quite clever that our brains function this way, as it’s nature’s way of “ensuring” that we eat a varied diet, which ensures our survival.
Salty
The salt shaker is usually one of the first things we reach for when the food is missing something. Salt emphasizes and enhances the natural flavors of the ingredients. Salt also has the ability to tone down one of the other six fundamental tastes, namely bitter. Besides table salt, flake salt, and so on, you can also add salt in other ways that can give much more character to the dish.
Salty foods:
- Bacon
- Olives
- Anchovies
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Capers
- Parmesan
- Caviar
- Seaweed
- Soy sauce
- Fish sauce
Sweet
Sweetness is something we love from birth. The primal human in us knows that sweet-tasting foods are packed with calories: A necessity for survival when living on the savanna.
Since many ingredients naturally contain sweetness, this is usually not something that needs to be added during tasting. Sweetness, however, rounds off the dish and creates a counterbalance to acidity and bitterness. Like salt, sweetness can neutralize a dish that has become too bitter. Instead of reaching for sugar, you can find sweetness in many other sources.
Sweet foods:
- Cream
- Milk
- Corn
- Almonds
- Ketchup
- Dates
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Honey
- Fruit (dried or fresh)
- Root vegetables (especially carrot and beetroot)
Sour
Acidity is something we are prone to overlook when tasting food. Acidity provides freshness and creates a counterbalance to salt, sweetness, and richness. In fact, sourness stimulates our salivary glands, making the food feel even juicier.
Sour foods:
- Lemon
- Vinegar
- Apples
- Dairy products (fermented)
- Lime
- Tomato
- Pickles
- Wine
- Buttermilk
Bitter
Bitterness is a bit of an odd flavor. It usually requires some getting used to. That’s why, for example, coffee, beer, and Brussels sprouts are things we typically don’t enjoy as children.
This is linked to our survival instinct. Naturally, bitterness is a taste we are programmed to be cautious of. Many of nature’s toxic plants taste bitter.
Bitterness, however, can really give a dish edge and character.
Bitter foods:
- Dark chocolate
- Coffee
- Beer
- Green tea
- Cranberries
- Walnuts
- Broccoli
- Arugula
- Cabbage
- Radishes
- Rye bread
- Herbs (such as parsley)
- Dried spices
- Lemon zest
- Orange zest
- Grapefruit
Umami
Umami, along with sweetness, is a taste we love instantly.
Umami is also called the “meat taste.” Umami is Japanese for “deliciousness,” and it’s probably not without reason that this fifth basic taste is given such a fine name. Umami is a taste our brains, over thousands of years, have tuned to find particularly satisfying. The reason is likely because our brains have learned that meat is a highly protein-rich and satiating source of nutrition, which again means survival on the savanna.
Foods with umami:
- Soy sauce
- Mushrooms
- Black olives
- Fish
- Cheese
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Balsamic vinegar
- Avocado
- Parmesan
- Fish sauce
- Bouillon
- Tomato
- Seaweed
Oleogustus
Oleogustus is a specific taste for hydrolyzed, long-chain fatty acids. It is still controversial whether oleogustus is an enriching taste or a taste that serves as a warning for spoiled foods. Oleogustus is a pleasant basic taste when it is based on fermented dairy products (cheese, crème fraîche …), fat from dry-aged meat, and the Italian specialty, lardo. Parmesan is often referred to as merely an umami taste enhancer, but it is both, an umami and an oleogustus taste enhancer.
Foods with oleogustus:
- Crème fraîche
- Whole milk yogurt
- Cultured butter
- Aged cheeses
- Lardo
- Fermented sausages
An example of the perfect meal
A “hot dog with everything” might not be what you immediately associate with a genuine culinary experience. The simple roasted hot dog with all the trimmings can, however, be considered an example of a perfectly composed meal.
A roasted hot dog has it all: The sausage offers both crispiness, salt, and umami, sweetness comes from the ketchup and the bun, the pickled cucumbers contain acidity, and the mustard is sharp and bitter. A remoulade made with 38% crème fraîche completes the experience with the oleogustus taste. The same is true if the sausage meat contains cheese.
You can keep this principle in mind in the future when composing a meal.
How to taste your food
The food is too salty: Add sour from vinegars
The food is too sweet: Add bitter or sour from citrus
The food is too acidic: Add salt or sweet
The food is too bitter: Add sweet or oleogustus
Moreover, salt enhances the flavor of umami, just as umami enhances the flavor of salt.
