Umami Quiz: The Fifth Taste and Kikunae Ikeda

This umami quiz sips a bowl of dashi to discover the fifth basic taste. Play 10 interactive questions on Kikunae Ikeda's 1908 discovery in kombu seaweed broth, glutamate, the word umami, the founding of MSG, tongue receptors identified in the 2000s, umami-rich foods like Parmesan, tomatoes and soy sauce, flavor-boosting combinations and glutamate in breast milk.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Taste
Which number basic taste is umami often called?
Scientist
Who identified umami?
Year
When did he make his discovery?
Broth
Which broth inspired the discovery?
Chem
Which substance gives umami taste?
Word
What does umami roughly mean?
MSG
Which seasoning grew from Ikeda's work?
Foods
Which food is rich in umami?
Boost
What happens when glutamate is combined with certain nucleotides?
Milk
Which first food contains glutamate?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which number basic taste is umami often called?
Answer: The fifth
Sweet, sour, salty and bitter come first.
Q2: Who identified umami?
Answer: Kikunae Ikeda
He was a Japanese chemist.
Q3: When did he make his discovery?
Answer: 1908
He studied broth closely.
Q4: Which broth inspired the discovery?
Answer: Kombu seaweed dashi
Kombu is a kelp.
Q5: Which substance gives umami taste?
Answer: Glutamate
It is an amino acid.
Q6: What does umami roughly mean?
Answer: Pleasant savory taste
It comes from Japanese.
Q7: Which seasoning grew from Ikeda's work?
Answer: Monosodium glutamate
It was sold from 1909.
Q8: Which food is rich in umami?
Answer: Parmesan cheese
Aging boosts glutamate.
Q9: What happens when glutamate is combined with certain nucleotides?
Answer: Umami taste becomes stronger
Bonito and shiitake supply them.
Q10: Which first food contains glutamate?
Answer: Breast milk
Babies taste umami early.

The Savory Fifth Taste

Umami is often called the fifth basic taste, alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter. In 1908, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda studied dashi, a broth made from kombu seaweed, and identified glutamate as the source of its rich, savory taste. He named it umami, roughly meaning pleasant savory taste.

Ikeda's work led to monosodium glutamate, or MSG, sold from 1909 as a seasoning. For decades umami was debated in the West, but in the 2000s scientists identified taste receptors on the tongue that respond to glutamate.

Umami-rich foods include Parmesan cheese, ripe tomatoes, soy sauce, mushrooms and cured meats. When glutamate combines with nucleotides from foods such as bonito flakes or shiitake, the taste becomes much stronger, a trick chefs use. Breast milk contains glutamate too, so babies taste umami early.

What This Quiz Teaches

Food science fans will enjoy these questions.

Who discovered umami
What causes it
What MSG is
Which foods have it
How flavors combine

Did You Know?

Fish sauce is packed with umami.
Slow cooking releases glutamate.
Ketchup's appeal includes umami.
Ripe tomatoes have more umami.
Umami can make salt taste stronger.