Umami

Since the '80s, the discovery of this  
            fifth basic taste has gained more

popularity. It comes from naturally occurring 
            glutamates in fish, kombu, mushrooms,

dashi, soybean paste. Scientists say it's no wonder 
           our taste buds snap awake: they're connected  

to our earliest memories of pleasure. It's in cheese, 
           fermented foods, and in breast milk which is high 

in amino acids. Think of babies, faces cupped against
           their mothers' breasts, heads tipped back after

they've had their fill. Then, there's texture: 
           the pleasing melange of sensations spreading 

through the roof and the back of the tongue,  
          a fuzzy warmth down the throat. Mostly, I prefer  

savory over sweet, salty over sour and bitter— 
         One perfect oyster globe, the reward of buttery 

yellow uni gonads lifted to the mouth with chopsticks 
        after tapping carefully around the spiny shell.