Umami-rich food around the world

It is not only in stocks that other cuisines around the world have exploited the taste of umami. All over the world there are numerous examples of foodstuffs and seasonings that are abundant in the fifth taste. Long before the term umami was coined or even fully understood, people everywhere were unconsciously striving to include the taste in their daily diets. This is unsurprising given that, along with sweetness, it is one of the five basic tastes that human beings crave most keenly, and is associated with food that is vital to our survival.