Month: May 2013

Earlier in this blog, we have introduced an approach in United Kingdom to make hospital food tastes better though using less sodium, but merit of utilizing umami in hospital is not only that. Hospitals in Japan are using umami-rich kombu tea to cure dry mouth caused by aging and medical side effect. When Umami reaches its receptor, saliva production will be enhanced and will stay in the mouth longer than any other basic tastes.

Moreover, there are researches going on that Umami is effective for Alzheimer’s. Tohoku university hospital in Japan did experiment to switch their 11 of their alzheimer’s patients to meal with more umami. Result came out that their facial expression improvement has been seen in all 11 of their patients and 7 of them started to talk.

In everyday life, you are preventing many different diseases to fight off; just like old saying “you are what you eat.” Taking in Umami in your daily diet, not only healps you prevent disease but makes dishes multiple times better.

Just soaking kombu seaweed in the water for a while makes water turns into magic water filled with umami and minerals. Thus, kombu seaweed is often called the king of seaweed. However, have you wonder if kombu seaweed turns water into dashi stock, why ocean never turns into delicious, mild water, instead of plain salt water?

379px-Kelp-forest-Monterey / Inf-Lite Teacher

It’s because when kombu seaweeds are still flickering in the ocean, they are still alive. Not just kombu seaweeds, but all the living matter have function in the body that takes in nutrients that is necessary to grow, and not letting them out, called selective permeability. Glutamic acid, basis of umami taste, is necccesary nutrient for kombu seaweed to grow. Therefore, it will store in its body over the years, condensing all the umami.

Kombu seaweed that was sun dried condenses rich nutrient and umami that was stored over the year, making each ingredients full flavored meal. Piece of dashi kombu strip is delivered to your with great care and time.

Maybe, if enough large amount of sun-dried kombu seaweed are thrown back in ocean, salt water may turn in to mild and full of umami.