Get to know Kokumi
Kokumi – the (almost) unknown umami relative
The five ground pillars within Natural Taste Enhancers: sweet, sour, bitter, umami and salt have long been known factors in every kitchen. Especially within the food industry. However, one factor has stayed relatively unknown for long, and that is Kokumi.
About umami
Most people know about umami. It is the 5th ground pillar within flavoring and make up, along with the other four ground pillars, the palette of flavoring that the tongue can register.
Umami was described for the first time in 1908 by the japanese chemist Dr. Kikunea Ikeda and translates into “pleasant taste”. Umami is considered a flavor on its own, and it can best be described as a savory flavor.
MSG, also known as monosodium glutamate, is known to elicit the umami flavor when it is added to meat.
About Kokumi
Kokumi is umami’s relatively unknown family member. At family dinners Kokumi is the one that is always brings a great mood. The one that elevates the ambience in the room, and the one that everyone would like to know better.
The reason why is that Kokumi enhances the taste of other flavors – especially sweet, salt and umami. The technical denotation for Kokumi is that Kokumi consists of di- and tri-peptide proteins that have been “broken down” by two or three amino acids. This happens when raw material has been decomposed and concentrated over a long time at low temperatures.
When ingesting food products containing Kokumi the calcium canals on the tongue’s epithelium are stimulated by the tri-peptides, which signals the brain that the food is brimming with flavor.
However, Kokumi does not have any flavor itself. Therefore it cannot be considered as the 6th ground pillar of flavoring. Instead it should be considered as a natural flavor enhancer with a – still – relatively unknown unexplored potential.
Carnad’s Kokumi products are made from natural meaty bones from animals as well as fish and shellfish. However, the Kokumi-effect can also be experienced through other raw materials.
Additives, yeast extracts, aromas and salts
The food industry today applies a lot of additives, e-numbers, yeast extracts, artificial aromas and salts to make the food taste better. However, this is completely unnecessary.
If you want to eradicate artificial additives and replace it with a natural alternative that also makes your food taste better, you can easily utilize Carnad’s kokumi flavor enhancers. The effect of Carnad’s Kokumi flavor enhancers are produced through a natural process. Here the proteins in the natural raw materials are ‘broken’ into smaller groups of amino acids, tri-peptides that provides a natural taste.
We have developed a product that consists of 100% natural ingredients. Because food is meant to consist of food.
Description of MSG
The third spice. MSG. Monosodium glutamate. Called by many names MSG are used far and wide within the food industry. It has the E number E621 and can best be described as ‘a flavor enhancing or aroma enhancing additive’.
But. Because there is a but. MSG is an artificial additive that can be easily replaced by a 100% natural ingredient that also boosts the flavor in food products. It can even be replaced by a natural ingredient that is more nuanced and well-balanced. That is of course Carnad’s Kokumi flavor enhancers. Kokumi provides a natural flavor boost without the addition of artificial e-numbers in food products.
