kokumi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 濃く味, from こく (koku).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koʊkuːmi/

Noun

kokumi (uncountable)

1. A taste, recognised by some Japanese researchers, associated with certain γ-L-glutamyl peptides which activate a calcium-sensing receptor also sensitive to glutathione.

   Synonyms: heartiness, mouthfulness

   Coordinate term: umami

   • 2007, Meat & Poultry, volume 53, numbers 1–6, page 46:

     As processors add to their products' flavor spectrum, one of the taste sensations many are targeting is kokumi. Bruns describes kokumi as a flavor enhancement that goes beyond umami, which is generally achieved with glutamic acid.

   • 2013, G. Reineccius, D. Peterson, “3: Principles of food flavor analysis”, in David Kilcast, editor, Instrumental Assessment of Food Sensory Quality: A Practical Guide, page 84:

     The uthors then had to quantify the compounds suspected of giving the kokumi taste and evaluate their potential contribution by recombination and omission sensory studies.

   • 2014, Andreas Karau, Ian Grayson, “Amino Acids in Human and Animal Nutrition”, in Holger Zorn, Peter Czermak, editors, Biotechnology of Food and Feed Additives, page 224:

     A sixth taste, kokumi, has recently been proposed. This is not in itself a specific taste, but a taste enhancer, which increases the intensity of salt, sweet, and umami tastes. Kokumi is produced in food by calcium ions and particularly by the tripeptide glutathione (γ-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine), and acts by inducing a response in calcium-sensing receptor cells [134].

   • 2015 August 8, Andy Extance, “Refined Taste”, in New Scientist‎^[1], number 3033, archived from the original on 5 September 2015, page 38:

     The secret behind the more delectable of the two dishes is the kokumi ingredients Youssef has spiked it with. Kokumi is a flavour concept originating in Japan that some foodies think could rank alongside the four familiar fundamental tastes, salt, sweet, bitter and sour. With many food flavours actually due to smell rather than taste, the fact that I experience kokumi’s potency with my nose disabled certainly suggests something special is going on.

   • 2023 July 6, Zoe Wood, quoting Martyn Lee, “Deliveroo dinner parties and overcooking eggs: Britons’ kitchen skills and blunders”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     “When you reheat a stew, or a slice of lasagne in your microwave after the flavours have had time to develop, you enjoy what’s known as the sixth taste sensation kokumi—which is lesser known than the other five tastes—sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.”

Anagrams

• Kumiko