October 2023

The Umami Information Center (UIC) held a lecture on umami basics at Niigata Cooking Technical School (NCTS) on October 17. NCTS is a major culinary school in Niigata, which has produced many professionals working in the food industry. We have been giving a special lecture in this school every year since 2014 and this year 70 students attended our lecture.

Students have already learned about umami as "one of the five basic tastes" in classroom lectures, however, their understanding of umami was further deepened by learning from the basics through tasting. They listened to the lecture attentively, experiencing the synergistic effects of umami and the effects of adding umami substances to foods.

In their feedback after the lecture, many described their surprise at the synergistic effects of umami.
One commented, "This was the first time I tasted kombu dashi and katsuo dashi separately." and another commented with surprise, "I didn't really know that kombu dashi and katsuo dashi together could have such a strong umami taste.” Other comments included "I learned that the vague aftertaste is umami," "Breast milk also contains glutamate, which babies respond to," “I was impressed by the idea that dashi can be made from just vegetables.”
It seems that each student made many discoveries.

We hope that the students, who will lead the dietary life of people in the future, will have a correct knowledge of umami and utilize the experience they gained in this lecture.