1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: M Hey, everybody, are you hungry? You want something sweet? 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: How about something savory? Or how about something sour tart? 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Oh no, no, no, no no. I think what you 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: need is some ou mommy in your mouth. So we're 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: gonna go back to August and learn all about this 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: new taste profile. It's actually not new. How ummy works. 7 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know A production of I 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, I'm welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 9 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: Charles W Chuck Bryant, and Jerry and so this is 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: stuff you should I tell you about to change the 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: name of the show right there on a whim. No no, no, 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: all right, that's a very meaty and savory of you. 13 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: Can you smell my juices I'm cooking in them. You 14 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: smell like fish stock? Oh yeah, yeah, you know. I 15 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: did a Don't be Dumb on Ketchup the origin of Ketchup, 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: the good one, and it actually Oh you saw that? 17 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: Sure you watched this? Of course I do. I had 18 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: no idea. I'm your biggest fan, you're one of the 19 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: well I know, I'm one of those people. It's like, 20 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: this guy is so dumb, what kind of I don't 21 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: get it? Get through these What is he acting like that? 22 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: But I just keep watching them. I can't help it. 23 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: So you saw the one about ketchup, and you know 24 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: about ketchy up the Vietnamese fish sauce that actually serves 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: as the basis for ketchup. Yes, the American condiment, which 26 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: is not the number one selling condiment in America is 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: also know what is it? Mayonnaise? Oh? Yes? Did you 28 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: know that I love mayonnaise? Certainly you didn't. What kind 29 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: dukes is your brain? Right? Well, I'm dukes, But I'm 30 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: just I'm gonna I find myself a defender of mayonnaise 31 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: because my whole life people have just thought it was gross. 32 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: Not everyone you would do well in, like France or Belgium, Buddy, Yeah, 33 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: like on a hamburger and hot dog, people like, because 34 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: I don't like ketchup and people think I'm weird. Oh no, 35 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: you need some ketchup too, Not that much. I've also found, recently, 36 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: as a grown up adult, a real live one that like, 37 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: you can replace ketchup with tomatoes and it tastes maybe 38 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: even better, depending on the ketchup. You mean on a burger, Yes, 39 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: instead of both, you just mean no ketchup. You can 40 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: put in both. I'm not I'm not opposed to it. No, 41 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: it just it I've found And it was a big 42 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: surprise to me, a really big surprise that if you 43 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: just put tomatoes, a good tomato on and no ketchup, 44 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: you're actually creating the taste that you're looking for with 45 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: ketchup that just misses it slightly because it's got more 46 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: than tomatoes in it, right. It's really, again, very surprising 47 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: to me, even though I realized, of course that tomato 48 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: is made from ketchup is made from tomatoes, Like, I 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: haven't made that connection, just didn't realize how good just 50 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: tomatoes were on a burger without ketchup. Yeah, I don't 51 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: like raw tomatoes either, so I wouldn't do that. And 52 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: you can't dip our French right in a tomato. Well, no, 53 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: I'm not opposed to catch up. I'll still use ketchup 54 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,079 Speaker 1: not here, especially for dipping fries. I'm cool with that. 55 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: I'm not down and ketch up here is what I'm 56 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: trying to say. I just think that tomatoes are great 57 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: on a burger, but I also like Mayo two I 58 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: think is ultimately the point that started me off on this. Yeah, 59 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: I like tomato sauce, like red sauce. But I don't 60 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: like raw tomatoes or just whole tomatoes. They're slimy, and 61 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: I'm not supposed to eat them like an apple or anything. Uh, 62 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: if you've been doing that, I can understand why you 63 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: don't like raw tomatoes. Some people do. Some people to 64 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: slice them and eat them on a plate. You're not 65 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: just holding it in your hand, eating it like an apple. 66 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: Look at a monster does that? That's what I'm saying, 67 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: a monster. Kaiser Willhelm the second Yeah, he was, he 68 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: was known, all right. So all of that to say, 69 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: O mommy, oh mommy, Oh mama, this one's about O mommy. 70 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: The fifth flavor, the fifth beetle, out of what they 71 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: now say is six fat fat carbon dioxide is also 72 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: one two oh. We supposedly they found receptors that are 73 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: tailored specifically dis sensing carbon dioxide on the tongue, and 74 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: that ultimately that makes it qualify as a taste. So 75 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: they're gonna be seven. Now. I think there's way more. 76 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: I don't know why science has been so stingy or 77 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: so reluctant to accept the idea that we have more 78 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: than four flavor receptors or more four taste receptors. But 79 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: oh mommy was isolated in the in the beginning of 80 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, and it wasn't for almost eighty years 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: before the West finally accepted it. Ah. Yeah. Part of 82 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: the reasons because it was the research was written in Japanese. 83 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: Well it's okay, that's maybe something to do with it. Uh. 84 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: And part of the issue was that um it's umami 85 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: is very mild and taste, and when you have um 86 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: high concentrations of it to increase set flavor, you've got 87 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: salty and sour mixed in. So I think it just 88 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: confounded the West. They're like, what we get sour, we 89 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: get salty, we get sweet, for sure, why we even 90 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: get bitter, but we don't get this other thing. Nope, 91 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: and we're not going over five. So you better make 92 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: the sumami stuff good. That's what the West said, dumb 93 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: Western scientists and food scientists. So chuck, I think we 94 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: let the cat out of the bag a little bit. 95 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: Um The Japanese are the ones who first discovered umami. 96 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: It's right comes from the word umi uh, roughly translated 97 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: as delicious. Uh. Chefs, if you talk to a chef 98 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: and Mommy's big hot thing. Right now, they'll say, maybe 99 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: it's like a mushroomy thing. It's like an earthy it's 100 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: it's it is very subtle. Like I said, it's musty. Yeah, musty, 101 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: which doesn't sound appealing. No, but it also makes sweet different. 102 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: That's oh, Mommy's big great quality. And I think that's 103 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 1: probably one of the reasons why it was hard for 104 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: the West to accept it is ou Mommy's big thing 105 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: is synergizing. It's a supporting cast member almost yeah, it takes. Yes, 106 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: it is. It's like, um, Bud Bundy, Okay, not a 107 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: leading guy, but you put him in an ensemble, He's 108 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: gonna bring everybody else up. It's what he's known for. 109 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: I would give a million American dollars to be inside 110 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: your brain during that five ish seconds of your spinning 111 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: around searching for supporting cast member and ending up at 112 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: Bud Bundy. Will you come back in twenty years and 113 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: give me a million dollars and I will let you. 114 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: Man would be amazing. So um with like salty sour, 115 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: we get again, we get those things. They stand on 116 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: their own. Umami actually has a very mild and not 117 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: necessarily like pleasurable flavor on its own. Yeah, you don't 118 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: want something that's like, oh, this is just umami flavored, right, 119 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: But it is almost like it's designed to interact with 120 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: other flavors, especially salty and especially sweet. Agreed, and ummy 121 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: can even interact with itself and all of a sudden 122 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: it takes what was just like ho home day and 123 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: turns it into the greatest day of your life with 124 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: one bite of chitake mush with some hot umami on 125 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: umami action. Uh. So it is nothing new, obviously, It's 126 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: not like you can just identify a new taste. Um 127 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: It's been around. Um. The Romans and the Greeks before 128 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: them enjoyed something called garum and that is a sauce that, boy, 129 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: you want to talk about how you find some weird 130 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: food wise, they were gutting fish and they said, let's 131 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: take this fish cuts and blood, and let's salt it 132 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: and leave it out in the sun for three months 133 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: and see what happened. See what happened, and you have 134 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: to eat it, eat it you, uh, and someone eventually 135 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: ate it. They strained the liquid from the top of it, 136 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: and they said, boy, this sauce is this is garam sauce. 137 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: This this good stuff is delicious. Garam means delicious in 138 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: ancient Roman. I think so. And it is uh that 139 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: was umami personified um because how umami was discovered. Uh 140 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:38,559 Speaker 1: in nineteen o seven, there was a brilliant chemist name 141 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: uh Kikuna Akita s A right that a e. It's 142 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 1: got an extra little pop to it. Got you? But yeah, 143 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: you did it, thank you. So he was a chemist 144 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: and uh he worked at the Imperial University. I'm sorry 145 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: he was. Yeah, he was a professor at the Imperior 146 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: Real University of Tokyo. And he was perplexed that he 147 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: tasted something one day and said, this is not any 148 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: of those four flavors. No, no, no, I know this 149 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: is different. He was all about the dashi. And dashi 150 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: is the basis of miso soups, lots of other stuff, 151 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: but basically it's a fish stock made from I think 152 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: tuna flakes and um combo which is dried kelp yes, 153 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: and they are all kinds of recipes for a dashi base. 154 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: And it's in a lot of things from sauces and 155 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: like soba noodle sauces to like you said, mi, so 156 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: um really really big ingredient in Japanese cuisine, right, And 157 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: this guy was like, this little boy loves this dashi 158 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: and I want to know exactly what is making it 159 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: so wonderful. So, since he was a chemist, he took 160 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: I think something like twelve kilograms of dashi and boiled 161 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: it down ten of them, isolated some stuff. The first 162 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: thing that came out were some obvious ones that he 163 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: clearly discarded. Is not responsible for your mommy, because there 164 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: were salts. He's like, no, it's not that. It's not salt. 165 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: We understand salt. It's not salt. I know for effect, 166 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: it's not salt. What else is in here? He starts 167 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: sorting through it, right, Well, didn't he separate the dashi 168 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: into its parts and then break those down? Yeah? Okay, 169 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: I just jumped ahead of step to make a terrible chemist. 170 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: He's on he's on kelp at this point, one of 171 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: the ingredients. Okay. And so with the kelp is where 172 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: he found those two salts and your right. He was like, well, 173 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: I know these flavors and they're not what I've been 174 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: experiencing on my tongue. Now they're old news news. So 175 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: he looked a little further and he found well, wait 176 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: a minute, what is this. It's glutamic acid. And he's like, maybe, 177 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: but glutamic acid has a sour taste and that's weird, 178 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: Like it can't be glutamic acid. It doesn't quite make sense. 179 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: So he added some more stuff, came up with a 180 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,040 Speaker 1: chemical reaction and what popped out on the other and 181 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: is what you and I call monosodium glutamate MSG. And 182 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: he figured out that it's not glutamate acid, it's not 183 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: the salt, but it's actually glutamate. But then he figured 184 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 1: out even further, like glutamate. That doesn't make any sense, 185 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: Like glutamate glutamate doesn't work. Then he realized it's not 186 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: the protein that's giving it the taste. It's the amino 187 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: acids that actually make up proteins that give you mommy 188 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: its taste. Boom, So glutamate, I'm sorry, isn't amino acid 189 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: right right right? And that's one of the things that 190 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: gives you mommy has taste. This is the first thing 191 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,319 Speaker 1: that was discovered, um to give you mommy its taste. Yeah, 192 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,079 Speaker 1: and that was the kelp. So you know, dashi has 193 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: a different components. So he had a student he said, 194 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: you know what, let me get that the dried tuna flakes. Um, yeah, 195 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: bonito delicious. There's different kinds, but bonito is definitely one 196 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: of them. Um. And he says, let me identify these components. 197 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: And he found was something called uh, you want to 198 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 1: try that one and a signate? Is that right? Yeah? 199 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: I think that is right. Man. It's a nucleic acid. 200 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 1: Like you say yes. So he's like, boom, I've got 201 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: number two. And then in nineteen sixty another scientist named 202 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: Akira uh kuney knaka. He worked for Yamasa, the famous 203 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: soy saucy a and now you're just showing off, he was, um. 204 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: And he went on to work in pharmaceuticals. It was interesting, 205 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: is the chemist. Yeah, but it's like you work for 206 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 1: soy sauce and then you go to work for a 207 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 1: pharmaceutical company. Right, I'm good at both things. But you're right, 208 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: it's all this chemistry. Um. So he said, you know what, 209 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: I can identify a third thing called guanai late. It's 210 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: another nucleotide in those shataki mushrooms you were talking about. Yeah, 211 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: and it's not like just bonito flakes, combo and staki 212 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: mushrooms are the only things that produce your mommy taste. 213 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 1: These are just the three things that those guys into 214 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,719 Speaker 1: town and isolated different stuff out of right. Yeah, I 215 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: always want to see Banita apple bum when you say 216 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: Bonita tribe called quest After all these years, they keep 217 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: making reference, they keep making appearances in episodes lately. Oh yeah, 218 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: they have been. Huh you mentioned him in Hula Hoops. Yeah, 219 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: this one. You can't remember which one we talked about 220 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: the scenario, Oh, what's the what's the what's the scenario? 221 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 1: You know what? My friend Justin whom you also know 222 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: his mother actually left her wallet and Elsa Gundo. No boy, 223 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: and he even called me. He was like, dude, guess 224 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:38,559 Speaker 1: what happened? My mother left a wallet and Elsa Gundo. 225 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: It's crazy. Yeah, it was pretty remarkable. We should probably 226 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: take a break, Yeah, and then we'll talk a little 227 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: bit more about the science of taste right after this. 228 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: So we have done an episode on taste that was great. 229 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: It was great. It's called taste and how it works 230 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: from July right, highly recommended. Yeah, but we're gonna go 231 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: over a little bit more here. Well, yeah, I think 232 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: if we're gonna talk about mommy. We'd be big jerks 233 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: if we just assumed you know everything there is to 234 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: know about. Yeah, we got to talk about what's called 235 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: the gustatory system. Okay, so um, when we're talking about 236 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: taste specifically, that's separate from flavor, which we'll get to. 237 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: But taste begins on the tongue, right, And on the 238 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: tongue you're gonna find what we like to call taste 239 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: buds or pepi a. The p a have taste buds 240 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: on them, right. Yes, there are three main types of papa. 241 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: You have the fun fungy form, mushroom shaped, the folly eight. 242 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: Those are the ridges and grooves at the back of 243 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: the tongue, and the circumvallate and those are circular at 244 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: the front front end of the tongue, right. And then 245 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: some papi a have a couple of taste buds. Some 246 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 1: have hundreds of taste buds. And then when you look 247 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: into the taste buds themselves, um, they have receptor cells. 248 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: And what's interesting is when you think about a taste bud, 249 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: you'd be like, oh, well, there's a salty taste bud, 250 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: sweet taste bud, ou mommy ou mommy, sweet sour, bitter, 251 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: that right, carbon dioxide, So that's not the case. As 252 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, taste bud has different receptor selves, 253 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: and these different receptor cells can be tuned to accept 254 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: or sense different types of taste. Wasn't it the shape 255 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: if I remember correctly that, well, that was with the smell. 256 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: Smell and tasted closely related, and we should say that 257 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: the spoiler alert for the taste episode. We're not a 258 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: harm percent sure how we sense taste or smell um, 259 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: but yes, the the predominant theory is that that a 260 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: specific type of odorant or taste molecule will interact with 261 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: a specific type of receptor and when it does, the 262 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: chemical in that molecule, that food molecule um unlocks that 263 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: receptor and by doing that, it's translated into an electrical impulse. Boom. 264 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: So you chew your food up, gets spitty and saliva covered, 265 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: and it breaks it down, cut your tongue and that's 266 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: when that transduction. Uh, those electrical impulses are sent to 267 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: the n ST the solitary tract of the brain, sorry, 268 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: the nucleus of the solitary tract of the brain. Yeah, 269 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: that's where it all happens. That's when it puts all 270 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: these different tastes together and says delicious, I like this 271 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,680 Speaker 1: or more to the point, and that's probably going to 272 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: kill you, so stop eating that. Yeah. And like we said, 273 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: taste is different than flavor. Taste is just one aspect 274 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: of flavor. For a food item or really anything to 275 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: have a flavor, it includes not just the taste, but 276 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: also the smell, the side of it, the temperature of it, 277 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: how it feels, is the firm is it a little 278 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: too gelatinous? Um. These are all things that your brain 279 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: takes into account, um, including things like memories that you 280 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: form from having it before. Cotton candy when I was 281 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 1: a kid gives me great memories. Yeah, So that plays 282 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: a part in flavor exactly, like you can like it 283 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: releases some different aspect of it that only you can 284 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: experience that flavor. Yeah, Like if you had a cotton 285 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: candy jelly bean, it would conjure up that memory and 286 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: that would be part of the flavor experience yea, or 287 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: if it's one of your past lives. So that's kind 288 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: of the science of taste. And with your mommy specifically. Um. Again, 289 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: one of the things that the West was having trouble 290 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: with this accepting that ou mommy was a real thing 291 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: was that there wasn't any um what's called psychophysical evidence 292 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: that ou momi was its own taste. Right. For a 293 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: long time, they thought it was just a component of 294 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: salty taste, because monosodium glutamate is a type of salt, right, 295 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: It's a salt protein combination that makes MSG. And for 296 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: many many years this was the only um this is 297 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: the only source of umami taste. But finally in the eighties, 298 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,440 Speaker 1: once they had the first international symposium on New Mommy, 299 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,679 Speaker 1: it was a real thing. That was a party. Um 300 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: the I'll bet it was too because it was in Hawaii, 301 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: and the Japanese and Americans love Hawaii, so I bet 302 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: everybody was partying down there. They started to do studies 303 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: in the early eighties and they found, oh, actually, no, 304 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: there are specific receptor cells on the human tongue. And 305 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: it turns out not just in human tongues, but mostly 306 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:46,120 Speaker 1: human tongues that are designed or geared towards accepting we're 307 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,160 Speaker 1: sensing umami tastes. That's right. Those are the g protein 308 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: coupled receptors g pc rs, and that is for sweet, bitter, 309 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: and umami and uh, sour and salty those a little different. 310 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: Those sort of flow through ion channels, which is way 311 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: over my head to be honest. Well, it's just like 312 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: if a molecule is a positive charge of a negative charge, 313 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: if it's if it's a positive eye on it has 314 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: positive charge, it's not going to make it through all 315 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: sorts of the channels. It's only going to make it 316 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: through positive channels. It's not it's simple, I know, but 317 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:20,199 Speaker 1: as far as relating that to a taste, it's just 318 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: sort of I'll can think of his manage. Well, that's 319 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: the whole thing. It's like you said, It's like it's 320 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: like your brain just turns to manage it's transduction is 321 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,680 Speaker 1: taking in electric chemical and turning it into an electrical charge. 322 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: I just think that's endlessly fascinating. Oh sure, the senses 323 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: and how they work, it's like it's amazing, But not 324 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: just that electricity and electric electrical generation, like remember that 325 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 1: episode Electricity maybe one of our best if you ask me. Agreed, 326 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 1: all right, So what way? What we have here are 327 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: three kinds of receptor cells that they know are that 328 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,199 Speaker 1: that respond to this combination that makes up what MSG 329 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: is I'm sorry. What umami is it's that ate, the 330 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: gwen elate in the MSG. And what they think is 331 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: that they actually hold on to these these compounds hold 332 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: on longer, which is why you get these interesting combinations. 333 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: When you have like, uh, cheese with an apple or 334 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 1: cheese on an apple pie. It takes sweet and like 335 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: doesn't just make it sweeter, it makes it like sweet 336 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:28,880 Speaker 1: in a different way, right exactly. Um. And the same 337 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: thing again, when when you mix together different types of 338 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: either amino acids or nucleic acids that create a new 339 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: mommy taste, they magnify this ummmy nous of this is 340 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,239 Speaker 1: meatiness of the whole thing. And um. Also with I 341 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: believe salty too, Oh mommy and salty mixed together. Um. 342 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: The fact that it it hangs onto that that molecule 343 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: longer and it just leaves that charge going, then that 344 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: sweet can come and go, but it's it's affected by it. 345 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: Food science is so interesting, it is. And we're gonna 346 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 1: talk a little more about food science and evolution right 347 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: after this. All right, So here's one thing I didn't get, 348 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: and I reread this a few times. I get the 349 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:29,959 Speaker 1: first part of this, which is as follows is that 350 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 1: people have long thought that tastes had a part in 351 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: evolution in that we were just wired to know that 352 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: if something sweet is probably okay to eat and that 353 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: will give us nutrition, something really bitter may be dangerous 354 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 1: to eat, that might be poisonous. And of course there's 355 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 1: exceptions to all of this. Those are pretty good general 356 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:54,199 Speaker 1: rules when it comes to UH evolution. Right that that 357 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: was the evolution explanation for the sense of taste, right, Yeah. 358 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: But what I don't get and is where in here 359 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: does it explain the evolutionary UH method of umami? Like 360 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: what role it played? I got this? You ready? Well 361 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: is it this part about cooking? Yes? Oh it was 362 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: very poorly stated, it really was. But it's really interesting 363 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: when you realize this that so you said that ou 364 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: mommy is is like one of the newer tastes or 365 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: something like that, It actually is. Yeah, they couldn't figure out, 366 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 1: like what part did this have an evolution? No, but 367 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: even before that, like if you look at it evolutionarily speaking, 368 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: it's it's actually very old. Supposedly the receptors are very old, 369 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 1: like four million years old or something like that. But 370 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 1: the idea that we can taste you mommy, or us 371 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: tasting you mommy is very actually fairly recent because ou 372 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: mommy is released by cooking food. Like if you eat 373 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: a bunch of raw hamburger, that's not gonna be umami tasting. 374 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: It's not gonna taste very good. But you cook that 375 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: hamburger and you have molecularly changed it's kind position. You've 376 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: unlocked some of the proteins into its constituent amino acids, 377 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden you've got umami taste. It's 378 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: like a caramelizing it onion is completely different than the 379 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: taste of a raw onion or even a just regular 380 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: grilled onion. Yeah, and the big mystery of all this, 381 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: evolutionarily speaking, is that what you're gaining or one of 382 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: the biggest sources of umami taste is glutamate. Well that's great, 383 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: but the human body produces tons of glutamate, so it 384 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 1: wouldn't make sense that we would have a taste receptor 385 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: to find it in nature because we got enough in 386 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: our body. Well, you need other essential amino acids. And 387 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: if it figures that the best way to get amino 388 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: acids is to cook or ferment food, you want you 389 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: need you need fire because amino acids can be bound 390 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: to proteins and we don't absorb them as well, or 391 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: our body spends a lot more energy of breaking them 392 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: down and digesting them than if we cook them or 393 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: if we forment them. So man invents fire, man starts 394 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: to cook food, Man advances more rapidly. Yes, that's one 395 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: of the ideas that, um, why our brain developed as 396 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,679 Speaker 1: well as it did, or we became as intelligent as 397 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: we did, was from cooking food. So we were able 398 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: to um break down our food a lot more easily 399 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: and gain from it, absorb it, and um basically grow 400 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 1: huge brains. That it came from cooking. And where where 401 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: do we get oh, mommy taste from cooked or fermented 402 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: food where these proteins have been broken down into much 403 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: more easily absorbed amino acid constituents. Man, I like that. 404 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: I agree. I feel like I just made it confusing though. 405 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 1: Did it come across No, it's it's totally makes sense. 406 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:45,239 Speaker 1: We learned how to cook food and that put us 407 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: at the head of the evolutionary ladder. Right, and O, 408 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: mommy tastes comes from cooked or fermented food? Very clear? Uh, 409 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: what is not clear, or maybe it is clear. Is 410 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: MSG bad for you? A lot of people say it 411 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: makes me dizzy, or it makes my heart flutter or 412 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: or you know the MSG crash after you go the 413 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,880 Speaker 1: Chinese food buffet. Well, there's actually something called Chinese food syndrome. 414 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: Not not true. Apparently it's a myth, supposedly, supposedly culturally 415 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,199 Speaker 1: bound syndrome where like very few other cultures outside of 416 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,479 Speaker 1: the United States or the West even think of the 417 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: idea that MSG can make you sick, and that it's 418 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: apparently a psycho somatic reaction where you expect MSG is 419 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: going to make you sick, so you get sick. Yep, 420 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: that's one explanation. Maybe your body or our bodies are 421 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 1: just different in how we process and metabolize MSG, or 422 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: maybe you have oded a little bit too much of 423 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,919 Speaker 1: anything could be a bad thing, right, it could be 424 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: all these things. But what science is saying is there's 425 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: no evidence that MSG is bad for you quote unquote right, 426 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: And apparently study after study found people that that MSG 427 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: doesn't cause these things. Yeah, it's it's weird, So get 428 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: off the couch. Lazy, you're just looking for an excuse 429 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,439 Speaker 1: to not cut the grass and so MSG again, it 430 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,120 Speaker 1: has kind of a bad has kind of a bad 431 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: rap here in the US, but it's everywhere, and it 432 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: was actually one of the first things that Um, yeah, 433 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: professor Akita Um did was he figured out a way 434 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: to patent extracting monosodam glutamate from wheat, which is where 435 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: it's sound much more abundantly than in like kelp, and 436 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: package it into a seasoning and he he had no 437 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: ill will. He's like, this is great. This can make 438 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 1: that boring dish like taste better, that healthy boring dish 439 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: taste better. So it's not it's ironic then that people 440 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: think it's bad for you, when in fact, when he 441 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 1: packaged it, he was like, this is gonna be good 442 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,119 Speaker 1: for you. It's gonna make this thing that's good for 443 00:26:57,119 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: you taste even better, and our country is going to 444 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,880 Speaker 1: be very hell the right. Yeah, but it's hard to find. 445 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,200 Speaker 1: You said, it wasn't everything, but it's disguised and ingredients. Yeah, 446 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,240 Speaker 1: again stealthily because MSG has a bad rap here in 447 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: the West. Yeah, they should just put MSG right. They 448 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: do sometimes for the most part, though, they will call 449 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,879 Speaker 1: it something like hydrolyzed wheat protein because remember, it can 450 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: be extracted from wheat. UM. Sometimes they'll call it just 451 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: natural flavors. Yeah, because all these things are naturally what 452 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,639 Speaker 1: else texturized, vegetable protein, autolized yeast extract uh yeah, or 453 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,120 Speaker 1: just natural flavors. So if you see that, that can 454 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: be a lot of things though, but just natural flavors. 455 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 1: You don't know what you're eating. But there are some 456 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,400 Speaker 1: upsides to using this MSG. It's actually it actually can 457 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,479 Speaker 1: be used in the way that Professor A. Keda envisioned it, 458 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,680 Speaker 1: which is taking stuff and making it slightly healthier. Actually, 459 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: when you have UM, when you use certain like potassium 460 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: chloride rather than sodium chlor ride to make MSG, you 461 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: can actually replace the sodium in UM a dish. So 462 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,159 Speaker 1: if you have a sodium problem, you can use some 463 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 1: of this stuff. Or hey, how about that uh, low 464 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: fat food that didn't taste so good at little MSG, 465 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: it tastes better, right, although recent medical research suggests that 466 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: you should be not eating low fat food, that regular 467 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: fat food is not bad for you. Or hey, old person, 468 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: you don't taste so good anymore, and you take medication 469 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,199 Speaker 1: that even dampens that. Right, Why don't you throw some 470 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: MSG on there? Why why don't you back to life. 471 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 1: You know, yes, so chuck um. Whether MSG is a 472 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: bad rap or not, it's definitely all over the place. Uh. 473 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: And it is making things taste good, in my opinion, 474 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 1: is here to stay. It is. But there's other ways 475 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: to to get a new mommy flavor out of food. 476 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: And this this article actually has some helpful tips for 477 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: cooking if you want to go and cook and get 478 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 1: a umami taste. Have you ever been to umami Burger? No? 479 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: I haven't. It sounds awesome, It's good. I like it. 480 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: It sounds like you can make one at home with 481 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: some mushrooms. Yeah. Umami Burger is a chain. Uh. I 482 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: don't know where they have them, but I had it 483 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles and they add powdered mushroom and seaweed 484 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: to the beef with little soy sauce. You don't even 485 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: know what you're eating except that it tastes good. You know, 486 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 1: you're like, hmm, I get to take the mushroom and 487 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: seaweed in this burger, all right? It's just umami flavored um. 488 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: And you know it's interesting. There's this uh. I think 489 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:43,920 Speaker 1: it's called like Umami Information dot Com or something like that. 490 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 1: Really interesting site. But they point out that, um, while 491 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: you associate umami with Asian cooking, it's actually found all 492 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: over the world, like in Italy with tomato sauces and 493 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: catch up in the United States. Uh in chie is 494 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:04,720 Speaker 1: in Europe. Um. In West Africa they have something called 495 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 1: um oh what is it called sambara? I think it's 496 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: kind of like a miso in West Africa that sounds 497 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 1: kind of delicious. Sombala that sounds good, just like the 498 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: sounds of it exactly. So it's it's interesting that like 499 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: people have been cooking with oo mommy stuff long before 500 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: we ever knew the word ou mommy um. And it's 501 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:31,960 Speaker 1: been around the world too. Uh, caramelizing onions we mentioned 502 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: in like butter nothing better? Um what else? Um, you 503 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: can put parmesan cheese rinds into a super stew and 504 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 1: it'll oo mommy. That thing up. That's a good one 505 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: if you're making a stock used bones of an animal 506 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 1: and supposedly against that kind of thing. The guy who 507 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: invented real stock is reputed to have believed that there 508 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 1: was a fifth taste that had yet been unidentified back 509 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century because he's like just boiled this calf. 510 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: He's like, there's there's something going on here besides the 511 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: Big four. Wow, nobody believed. Uh. If you're cooking with mushrooms, 512 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: and I recommend this with all vegetables, roast those things 513 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: a little bit first. It brings out all kinds of 514 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: flavors and it makes your brain bigger. Like if you 515 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 1: if you got to make an omelet, don't just throw 516 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: raw peppers and stuff in there. Cook that stuff up 517 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: a little bit on the side, then add that to 518 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: the egg mixture. It makes the world of difference. You know, 519 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: everybody should watch Internet Roundup just just to get an 520 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: idea of what like our little gesticulations are. Like when 521 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: you're talking about like cooking peppers on the side and 522 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: throw them in there, like just the you're making very 523 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: cute little hand gestures over there. Well. I always joke 524 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: with Emily, I'm gonna open an omelet stand on the 525 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: beach one day. It's my retirement job. She's like, why 526 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 1: an omelet stand on the beach. I was like, because 527 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: no one's ever done it. No, they really haven't You 528 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,400 Speaker 1: ever go to the beach. You're laying there in the 529 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:03,160 Speaker 1: hot sun, Like I could use an omelet every time 530 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:04,960 Speaker 1: I think I just want my retirement job to be 531 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 1: very slow paced and not busy. You'll get to eat omelets. 532 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: You got anything else? Um, cooking with wine is a 533 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: good one too. Yeah, that's umami city. Um No, just 534 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: go forth and try o mommy, ng up your dishes 535 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: and you will be happy. You will be happy to 536 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 1: say us it's It'll be an indefinable quality, but you'll 537 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: know it's ummi. Yes to be something about it. I 538 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: can't put my finger on it. You'll say. This stuff 539 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 1: is ou my, which again means delicious roughly in Japanese. 540 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: If you want to know more about ou mommy, you 541 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: can type that word in the search bart how stuff 542 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,719 Speaker 1: works dot com. Uh. And since I said, oh mommy, 543 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 1: it's time again for a listener mail, I'm just gonna 544 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: call this a nice, simple thank you from a listener. 545 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:01,640 Speaker 1: Those are nice. Uh. Some into is nice, you know. Yeah. 546 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: It's from Meredith from Granite Falls, Minnesota. And she's just 547 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: thanking us because she has a boring summer job. She said, 548 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 1: I work at a hospital and I scan a bunch 549 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 1: of old files into an external hard drive. That's what 550 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: I do is I remove a lot of staples, stare 551 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 1: at the scanner and I wait for it to be 552 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: done over and over. Yeah. Can you imagine there? It's like, oh, 553 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 1: we need to digitize all these records. Let's hire someone 554 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: to do that. Yeah, so God bless you Meredith for 555 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,320 Speaker 1: doing that. I found listening to eight hours of music 556 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 1: just wasn't doing the trick anymore. Then I discovered the 557 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 1: wonderful world of podcast, and you guys are my all 558 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,720 Speaker 1: time faves. You guys are so funny, and I love 559 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,560 Speaker 1: all the dumb jokes you make. I don't know if 560 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 1: they're dumb. I think like groundbreaking is a better way. Yeah. Uh, 561 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 1: they really make my day, guys. And even if I 562 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: don't understand all the tangents you go off on because 563 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: I'm only twenty one and don't understand most of these 564 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,520 Speaker 1: references you make the movies or pop culture things from 565 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: decades gone by, I still enjoyed that the podcast is 566 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,400 Speaker 1: more of a conversation between you guys than just strictly 567 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: reading from a script. Oh yeah, we don't even have 568 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: a script. Clearly, that would be the worst script ever. Um. 569 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:12,600 Speaker 1: One of these days I'll have a real story to 570 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,399 Speaker 1: share directly related to a recent show. But for now, 571 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,200 Speaker 1: I just want to say thank you so much and 572 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,880 Speaker 1: keep up the amazing work that is. Best wishes from Meredith. Meredith, 573 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,759 Speaker 1: thank you. And she's a PostScript that says, I absolutely 574 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: love it when Josh Josh calls chuckers. Don't even know why. 575 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 1: It just makes him a smile every time. Nice and 576 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: it just has a rank chuckers. It's a fun word. 577 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,239 Speaker 1: It is. It's like ou mommy. What we said mommy 578 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,799 Speaker 1: a lot. I wonder how many times, I don't know, 579 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: we should have an ou mommy counter on the website. Yeah, 580 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,279 Speaker 1: it would be cool. I don't know if we are 581 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 1: familiar with the technology that could do that though. And 582 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: at the end it just turns into a big pile 583 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 1: of salty dried fish cuts. I seriously am making some 584 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: top notch me so soup. I've been inspired to. You've 585 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:05,399 Speaker 1: gotten pretty good everything. Yeah, yeah, I've gotten pretty good 586 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,680 Speaker 1: at um hot and sour soup. But I make it 587 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: from a mix and just add some stuff to it. 588 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,480 Speaker 1: This is I'm going to make from like dashi and 589 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 1: mi so from scratch. Well, I'm not gonna like ferment 590 00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:18,920 Speaker 1: the soybeans or anything like that. But you're gonna make 591 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,120 Speaker 1: your own dashi. No, I'm gonna buy dashi. You should 592 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: make your own doshi. I'm not gonna make my own dosh. 593 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,040 Speaker 1: You know how bad my apartment smell. If I like 594 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: fermented and then boiled down fish just to make the 595 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: stock you need, it's crazy. You need a spice kitchen. 596 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: I do need a spice kitchen, now that you mention it. 597 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:37,640 Speaker 1: Um no, But I will let you know how the 598 00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:41,040 Speaker 1: miso soup turns out all right? Okay. If you want 599 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 1: to get in touch with us, you can tweet to 600 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:46,040 Speaker 1: us at s y s K podcast. You can join 601 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,239 Speaker 1: us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff you Should Know. 602 00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 1: You can send us an email The Stuff podcast a 603 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 1: house to works dot com, and as always, join us 604 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,319 Speaker 1: at our home on the web. Stuff you Should Know 605 00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:00,040 Speaker 1: dot Com. Stuff you Should Know is a production and 606 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts My Heart Radio, 607 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,280 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 608 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. H