For centuries there were just four flavours: salt, sweet, sour and bitter. Then came 'umami', the mysterious fifth flavour, first identified by Japanese scientists a hundred years ago and only recently recognized in Britain and America. Sheila Dillon discovers what umami is and why it's causing so much excitement in gastronomic and scientific circles.
Reporter James Crawford joins guests at an umami dinner organised by the Cheltenham Festival of Science.
Japanese cook and food writer Kimiko Barber demonstrates the importance of umami in her country's food by preparing dashi, the stock that is at the heart of Japanese cuisine, and using it in a noodle dish.
Harold McGee, author of McGee on Food and Cooking: An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture tells the story of the discovery of umami.
Sheila visits chef Heston Blumenthal at the laboratory of his restaurant The Fat Duck in Bray where they undertake an umami taste test.
Professor Edmund Rolls of Oxford University's Department of Experimental Psychology explains how he has been working with umami to discover more about how our brains respond to taste.
McGee on Food and Cooking: An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture
by Harold McGee published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, ISBN: 0340831499
Sushi: Taste and Technique by Kimiko Barber, Hiroki Takemura, Ian O'Leary, (Photographer) published by Dorling Kindersley ISBN: 0751336998
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Presenting The Food Programme has been Sheila's perfect job.