UMAMI taste and the consumer perception

Abstract

Umami the fifth basic taste is present in a lot of food products of vegetal and animal origin. The presence of this taste may be perceived or not, depending on the attitude towards food, on experience, age, the type of food usually consumed and other factors. The study was conducted to find out if consumers living in south and south-east of Romania function of their food habits can link the taste of some foods which contain umami components to this new taste. The age and the food habits are the most important factors which affect the umami taste perception.