Japan is well known for its food, food appreciation, and food culture. The plethora of food-themed anime and manga isn’t so surprising when you realize just how central food is to the Japanese. And, at J-List, we celebrate a part of that by bringing you some of the most amazing snacks from Japan.
But a conversation about Japanese food and snacks wouldn’t be half as spicy without discussing one man, in particular, Doctor Kikunae Ikeda. We owe Dr. Ikeda a lot.
Professor Kikunae Ikeda was born on the 8th of October, 1864. He went on to become a chemist and a professor of Chemistry at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1908 he uncovered the chemical basis of a taste he named umami — one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
The story of his discovery is as quintessential a discover story as Newton’s apple to the head.
In 1907, Prof Ikeda was eating dinner with his family when he stopped suddenly, mid slurp. He was intrigued by the taste of his dashi broth, which for some reason was particularly tasty on that fateful day. After a few stirs, he realized that the flavor came from the kombu — edible kelp — in his soup. So powerful was the epiphany that he went on to devote his life to the study of kelp and flavor.
Yes, friends, Prof Ikeda studied kelp, kelp made food tastier, snacks took off, Your Friend in Japan discovered the wonder of kelp-enhanced snacks, J-List was born, and shopping for delicious treats from Japan was never the same again. Let’s get back to Prof Ikeda and his journey to unlocking Super Saiyan level flavor.
MSG — The Secret Ingredient
By 1908, the good professor had isolated glutamic acid — brown crystals which you may know as glutamate — which gives kombu its distinct flavor.
Dun dun duh! Enter, stage left, the controversial chemical, monosodium glutamate. MSG, as the cool kids call it, has been blamed for causing headaches, asthma, ADHD, and small equipment in men, even though it is generally considered safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The chemical occurs naturally in tomatoes and grapes, and hey, if it’s good enough for nature, it’s good enough for me.
Professor Ikeda used MSG to form the chemical basis for his umami flavor, and called it ajinomoto, or “the essence of flavor.” By 1909 he was able to mass-produce MSG and founded the Ajinomoto company, a now global corporation that produces everything from frozen foods to pharmaceuticals. Really, they are to your tastebuds what Toyota is to driving.
Thank you, Doctor Ikeda, for bringing the flavor!
