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10 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I think, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to umami-rich fermentables of a culture, the fewer the man made umami rich flavor enhancers.

2 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to umami-rich fermentables of a culture, the fewer the man made umami rich flavor enhancers.

2 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to umami-rich fermentables of a culture, the fewer the umami rich flavor enhancers.

2 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to fermentables of a culture, the fewer the umami rich flavor enhancers.

2 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to fermentables of a culture, the less the unami rich flavor enhancers.

2 hours ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even simpler,  in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to fermentables of a culture, the less the unami rich flavor enhancers.

1 hour ago, Qwerty said:

One thing that might be noted is that, at least here in the states, our food contains so much animal protein (in general) that we don't need umami to enrich a lot of stuff. A bowl of rice and vegetables would benefit more from fish sauce or soy than a bowl of Texas red, for example. The fish sauce or soy would fill that "gap" in the dish, making the flavor more rounded and hit more areas of the palate. "We" also use a lot more dairy in our cooking, where there isn't that tradition in Eastern food (and yes, obviously I'm generalizing)

 

But since so much of our "traditional" cooking is meat-centric, and indeed the way we eat is meat centric--things that bring umami aren't really the necessity that they might be in other, specifically Eastern, cuisines. 

 

It might go a small way to explain why there isn't a tradition of "umami" as a flavoring ingredient.

I agree somewhat.

I say, it may be even simpler,  in terms of umami rich flavor enhancer made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to fermentables of a culture, the less the unami rich flavor enhancers.