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Slow Cooking: The Secret of More Umami
Appears in
By Ole Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbæk
Published 2014
Gently stewing or simmering meat and vegetables over a long period of time releases more of their free glutamate and nucleotides, which intensifies umami. A dish of oxtails simmered for hours or an osso buco made with beef shanks, vegetables, and tomatoes is delightfully savory and satisfying.
The difference in taste between a well-cooked meat stew and a quickly sautéed piece of beef is enormous. Sautéing will infuse the dish with delicious-tasting Maillard compounds as the result of browning, but stewing draws out more umami. Other traditional simmered dishes that are also rich in umami include cabbage rolls and cassoulet. Cassoulet