Michael Anthony

To express umami to a person who doesn’t know the taste, I usually use the word “earthy.” It’s not a great descriptor, because “earthy” really means musty and mushroom-like, but it’s one way I find myself describing umami. I never use the word “meaty,” because when I think about umami, it’s much more soft. It’s very difficult to describe. In fact, we actually use the word “umami” to describe the taste of umami, so we use it as an adjective as well as a noun. It’s a natural deliciousness to a dish that mostly comes from glutamate.