umami
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2026 is:
umami • \oo-MAH-mee\ • noun
Umami refers to the taste sensation that is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides and that has a rich or meaty flavor characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes.
// The chef’s secret ingredient added the perfect burst of umami to the signature dish.
Examples:
"This recipe uses a classic marble cake technique to swirl rich layers of cinnamon into a fluffy olive oil-scented loaf cake. It’s topped with a malted milk glaze for a punch of umami, but you can skip it entirely or substitute a simple vanilla glaze." — Tanya Bush, Will This Make You Happy: Stories & Recipes from a Year of Baking, 2026
Did you know?
Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda is credited with identifying as a distinct taste the savory flavor of the amino acid glutamic acid, which he first noticed in soup stocks made with seaweed. This fifth basic taste—alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter—was named umami, meaning "savoriness" in Japanese. Umami can be experienced in foods such as mushrooms, anchovies, and mature cheeses, as well as in foods enhanced with monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a sodium salt derived from glutamic acid.