The existence of a fifth taste — referred to as "umami" — has long been acknowledged in Japan, but without any direct English language translation, it is only comparatively recently that the trend for umami-rich food has hit the West.
Although the head chef of the highly rated Umu restaurant in London, Ichiro Kubota, has often been cited as having provided Londoners with a guaranteed "umami experience" since opening his restaurant in 2004, it has been somewhat more difficult to find the culinary experience elsewhere in Britain.
Worldwide, people have unconsciously recognized the essence of umami since ancient times, but the official identification of the unique taste can be attributed to Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University during his research of the strong flavor of "konbu" (kelp) broth in 1908.
While the definition is nearing its centenary in Japan, it was only in 1985 that the word umami became internationally recognized and the world acknowledged that there was a taste common with tomatoes, cheese and pork, for example, which did not fit with the four already well-known taste categories of sweet, sour, bitter and salty.