The Science of Umami: How Bone Broth Creates Depth and Flavor

Some foods don’t just taste good; they linger. You take a bite and already know you’re going back for another.

It’s not extra salt or heaps of butter doing all the heavy lifting. There’s depth — the kind of deeply satisfying flavor that makes simple food feel more complete and comforting.

That’s umami. And bone broth happens to be one of the most natural sources of this flavor magic. 

So let’s talk about how umami works and why it makes everyday meals feel richer with far less effort.

WHAT IS UMAMI, EXACTLY?

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, right alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It’s often described as savory or “meaty,” but at its core, umami is really about depth. It gives foods a fuller, more rounded flavor instead of one that feels sharp or one-note.

Unlike tastes that hit fast and fade, umami builds slowly, weaving flavors together so a dish feels cohesive and more than the sum of its parts. That’s why umami-rich foods often taste comforting and satisfying without being heavy.

While the other four basic tastes were recognized thousands of years ago, umami wasn’t formally identified as its own distinct taste until the late 20th century.[*][*]

WHEN WAS UMAMI ACCEPTED AS THE FIFTH TASTE?

In the early 1900s, Japanese chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda noticed something distinct about dashi, a traditional soup base made with kombu seaweed.[*] 

The flavor was mild, savory, and deeply satisfying, but it didn’t fit into sweet, salty, sour, or bitter flavor profiles. Ikeda traced that taste to glutamic acid in the seaweed.[*] 

Decades later, researchers identified taste receptors on our tongues that respond specifically to glutamates and other related compounds.[*] Our bodies are literally built to detect it.

So in 1985, the taste was formally named umami, from the Japanese word umai, meaning delicious.[*] 

WHAT GIVES UMAMI FLAVOR?

In one word: glutamate.

Glutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid, or a building block of protein. It’s responsible for that savory umami flavor, but only when it’s flying solo.

Some foods are abundant in “free” glutamate, so they taste umami-forward on their own. But most glutamate is locked inside long protein chains. 

When it’s stuck there, you can’t taste it. Once it breaks free, though, it hits your taste buds and signals that signature flavor.

So, how do we “free” glutamate?

• Heat (cooking). Roasting, searing, or simmering breaks protein chains apart, releasing savory glutamate.

• Fermentation (microbes). In foods like soy sauce or fish sauce, microbes act like tiny scissors, snipping glutamate free over months of aging.

• Ripening (nature). As certain fruits or veggies ripen, they naturally break down their own proteins, unlocking deeper flavor.

Now, if glutamate starts the umami flame, nucleotides help it burn brighter.

🔥 NUCLEOTIDES: THE UMAMI AMPLIFIER 

Nucleotides are found in foods like meat, fish, and mushrooms. 

On their own, they don’t have much flavor. But when they pair up with free glutamate, they amplify the umami signal on your tongue, making it feel up to 30 times stronger.[*]

That’s why certain food combos feel especially crave-worthy. Pepperoni pizza? Anchovies in Caesar dressing? Sushi?

All well-matched glutamate-and-nucleotide friendships that supercharge flavor.

5 UMAMI-RICH FOODS YOU PROBABLY ALREADY LOVE

So, how does umami taste? We bet it’s more familiar than you think! Many comforting, everyday foods get their depth from umami, even if you’ve never stopped to name it.

🍄 MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms are a bit of an umami overachiever. They’re naturally high in glutamate and rich in nucleotides, which makes their savory flavor especially potent.

Dried varieties like shiitake, porcini, and truffles take things even further. The drying process concentrates those compounds, intensifying their depth. Cook them, and that savory quality really blooms, adding richness to everything from pasta and risotto to grain bowls and sauces.

🍅 TOMATOES

As tomatoes ripen, their “bound” glutamate becomes “free”, which is why ripe tomatoes taste deeper and more savory than tart green ones.

To get the biggest umami boost, tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes are where it’s at. Remove the water, and the savory compounds concentrate, creating a rich depth of flavor that adds body and warmth to sauces, soups, and stews.

🥬 SEA VEGETABLES

This is the OG glutamate source. Sea vegetables like kombu (kelp) and nori (seaweed) are naturally rich in glutamic acid, which is exactly why they’ve been used for centuries to build savory flavor and unmistakable depth in broths and soups.

🧀 AGED CHEESES

Why are Parmesan, Gruyère, and blue cheese so much more savory than Mozzarella? 

Time. 

As cheese ages, enzymes slowly break down milk proteins into (you guessed it!) free glutamates. The longer the aging process, the more pronounced the umami becomes.

Those tiny, crunchy white crystals you sometimes spot in well-aged Cheddar or Parmesan? They’re actually clumps of amino acids we affectionately dub “flavor sparkles.”

🫙 FERMENTED AND CURED FOODS

Foods like soy sauce, miso, kimchi, fish sauce, anchovies, bacon, cured meats, and Marmite or Vegemite owe much of their savory punch to fermentation and curing.

During their #FreeGlutamate campaign, microbes and enzymes break down proteins over time, releasing glutamates and intensifying flavor.

Even the smallest amount can transform a recipe, layering in richness, complexity, and depth.

🍜 Quick noodle bowl? Our Ramen Instant Bone Broth leans fully into umami, pairing chicken bone broth with classic savory elements like mushroom, onion, garlic, and fermented soy notes. 

SO, DOES BONE BROTH TASTE UMAMI?

Yep! Simmering bones for 12+ hours breaks the long protein chains in the bone marrow and gradually releases their savory compounds (and other nutrients!) into the broth.

This process creates a natural glutamate base, which gives bone broth its deep, rounded flavor. But bone marrow also contains nucleotides — those same compounds that heighten umami when paired with free glutamate.

Put it all together, and bone broth flavor is like a 1+1=4 situation for your taste buds. It builds gently, coats your palate, and lingers like a warm hug. Classic umami.

FAQ: IS UMAMI THE SAME AS MSG?

Not exactly.

Umami is a taste, while monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one specific source of the compound that creates that taste. MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, manufactured to deliver a strong savory signal.[*]

Often described as a flavor enhancer, you’ll typically find MSG in basic stock, seasoning blends, and bouillon. 

✅ HOW TO ADD UMAMI FLAVOR TO EVERYDAY MEALS

Adding umami doesn’t require fancy ingredients or complicated techniques. Most of the time, it comes down to a few small but clever choices.

⌛ DON’T RUSH THE PROCESS

Roasting, simmering, or gently cooking whole foods gives umami space to develop. When ingredients have time to break down and mingle, savory flavor deepens on its own. 

That patience often does more for a dish than adding another seasoning at the end.

➕ LAYER UMAMI-RICH INGREDIENTS

Pairing foods like meats, mushrooms, tomatoes, aged cheeses, or fermented elements easily creates more satisfying recipes. Think of it like teamwork; each ingredient naturally reinforces the other for the flavor win.

🍲 COOK WITH BONE BROTH INSTEAD OF WATER

If you want meals with stick-to-your-ribs vibes, start swapping water for bone broth.

Cooking grains, beans, and veggies in bone broth adds an instant savory backbone, making dishes feel more satisfying and complete. 

The same goes for reducing sauces or slowly braising meats, where umami compounds have time to concentrate rather than rush offstage. 

🌟 Bonus: Bone broth adds extra protein and collagen to your meals, giving them a nutritious upgrade we could all use more of.

👉 For more ideas, tips, and easy swaps, check out our guide on How To Incorporate Bone Broth Into Everyday Meals.

💙 UMAMI, MADE EASY WITH BARE BONES

Bone broth already brings umami to the table. 

We build on that foundation with umami-rich ingredients like mushrooms, tomato, herbs, and aromatics, creating a base that works especially well for last-minute meals that still feel intentional.

On busy nights, that may be as simple as cooking rice or lentils in bone broth instead of water, or pulling together a quick soup without stopping to build flavor from scratch. 

Whether you reach for our Classic Bone Broth or Instant Bone Broth packets, it’s one less thing to think about.

🍽️ COOKING GETS EASIER FROM HERE

You came in curious. Now you know what umami is, where it lives, and how it shows up on your plate. That’s knowledge you can actually use to make cooking feel less like guesswork and more like something you can trust.

Our Classic Bone Broth and Instant Bone Broth packets give you a simple way to create meals and drinks that feel warmer, easier, and more grounded in one step.

Because no one needs more pressure in the kitchen. We just need a better place to start. 🫶