All the time I get ideas of new flavor combinations, fusions, and accentuations. Recently I had the idea to create a hot sauce that is as rich as I could get with umami.
For those of you who do not know what umami is, let me briefly tell you. It is the fifth taste along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Describing the sense of what umami tastes like is often said to be delicious, mild, subtle, lingering, and salivating-- for these reasons is why it’s thought to bring about appetite. It was first discovered in 1908 by a Japanese man by the name of Dr. Ikeda while he was traveling in Germany. There are three main amino acids that are the triggers for our sensation and response of umami and they can play a synergistic effect.
Now that you know a little about umami - when you sample foods like this you may be able to look for this sensation on your tongue and in your mouth. After first sampling my creation with this new hot sauce I created called “Umami Bomb”, this feeling is very apparent on the tongue. It may help you understand more and help the connection from your brain to your palate. This awareness is key to having a good palate.
I was more excited to make this recipe than any others I have created. The research, the hype, the curiosity, and the desire to see how it would turn out and how it will pair with foods. From all of my knowledge of foods from around the world, my research on umami, and my acquiring these ingredients in a short period of time I have to say Umami Bomb is a very special sauce. Honestly, I would love to hoard it all but my love of sharing is too strong and I really want others to share this experience with me.
A few ingredients that made this so special are directly imported rind of Parmigiano Reggiano, anchovy extract from Campania, dried porcini from Italy, dried shiitake, soy sauce, and kelp from Iceland. For those who do know, this is like gold in the culinary world. One of my favorite things to do is to use Parmigiano Reggiano rind when making soups, stocks, or broths. Another ingredient that is like magic is the anchovy extract from a specific region in Italy that is known for their care and quality of anchovy. Mushrooms have been a newer interest of mine ever since I went foraging in Oregon. It really opened up a whole new world for me with the immense diversity in, shapes, textures, and smells that fungi can have. I chose to add some kelp from Iceland here because this particular kelp smells like a clean ocean. Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of the quality of ingredients that go into making my sauces. I take a lot of pride in it, I want to do it right, I want to be the best, most of all I want you to greatly enjoy your food while having a whole new experience.
