# The fifth taste

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-taste/155658>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 17, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-taste/155658 "2003-02-17T16:48:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-taste/155658/1 "2003-02-17T16:48:57Z")

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Inspired by [**this**](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/702757.stm) article from BBC Science:

> [@](#):
>
> **Cells in our tongues sense four basic tastes - sweet, salty, sour and bitter - plus a fifth, monosodium glutamate.**

Bitter we get from various alkaloid/alkaline(??) things. Sour from acidic ones. Sweet from sugar - _and things that imitate sugar_. Salty just from salt? (and salt substitutes?)

So does the MSG taste just come from MSG? Does MSG occur naturally in some plant or meat foods, if so, what? And what exactly does it _taste_ of, because I thought it was just a flavour enhancer to open up your tastebuds to help you taste other things more?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-taste/155658/2 "2003-02-17T16:57:31Z")

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They’ve givena name to that taste: _umami_.

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-taste/155658/3 "2003-02-17T16:57:51Z")

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It’s basically the difference between salt water and broth. Here’s an interesting article about broth that explains some of the chemistry:

> **[Broth is Beautiful - The Weston A. Price Foundation](https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/broth-is-beautiful/)**
>
> Read this in: Español 🖨️ Print post “Good broth will resurrect the dead,” says a South American proverb. Said Escoffier: “Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, \[…\]