Since then, when a person stopped just putting what he managed to get in his mouth and started cooking, almost 2 million years have passed. During this time, considerable changes have occurred both with culinary traditions and with eating habits. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, new trends in cooking are born one after another. Molecular cuisine, for example, or a raw food diet does not surprise anyone. But not everyone knows what “minds” are. In any case, millions of people are sure that this is alien and unknown to them.
But they are wrong. Unusual and alien to them seems only a word. The very phenomenon of the minds applies to absolutely everyone. Let's get it right.
Historical excursion
The word "minds" was born in the Far East. More precisely, in Japan. Literally, it cannot be translated into any other language, but if not literally, then its meaning is approximately the following: “tasty taste”, “taste of tasty” or something else like that. And since there was no adequate word in Russian, I had to use Japanese.
Those who have just now decided to find out what such minds are likely to be very surprised if they find out that in the Land of the Rising Sun they know about this phenomenon a long time ago. And this word was first uttered more than a century ago - in 1908. This did not happen anywhere, but in the chemical laboratory of the capital's university, where Professor Kikune Ikeda worked. It was he who first identified a number of products that, in his opinion, had a special taste. He attributed them to asparagus, tomatoes, meat, cheese, and found the greatest concentration in dashi - kombu seaweed broth.
The chemist set to work and soon isolated the substance glutamate, the very amino acid that gives the food a special taste. Ikeda continued research, and then received relevant patents.
A little about physiology
Human language is able to recognize four tastes. Everything else is their combination in various proportions. That is what physiologists have claimed until recently. Today, the scientific world is revising this theory.
Salty, sweet, sour, spicy ... And obviously something else! Inexplicable, but understandable without words. Something that makes food divine. This is the minds. Taste No. 5, as the culinary experts and physiologists managed to christen it.
This substance is not only recognized by our taste buds, but also causes addiction. I want to try it again and again! What can I say - it drives us with our minds! The fifth taste is so attractive to us that to refuse products in which it is contained is sometimes incredibly difficult.
Where is the mind?
The list of products is considerable. It includes many varieties of cheeses, green peas, corn, meat, fish, fresh fruits. The percentage of mind content in mushrooms, especially forest ones, is incredibly high. Asparagus and olives are also valuable sources of glutamate.
Soy sauce is just a storehouse for those who have already learned what the minds are and decided to eat plenty of it.
A considerable percentage is found in alcoholic beverages, especially red wine.
But the palm holds breast milk. Moreover, the milk of all other animals can not stand any comparison with him, although this substance is also in it.
Experts agree that minds still need to be able to receive. The easiest way is boiling. Glutamate easily goes into the broth; it is not for nothing that it was isolated for the first time from dashi soup. The same thing with meat - in raw tasting with the minds is impossible. Another sure way - pickling, pickling, fermentation. Therefore, we do not eat raw meat. But thermally processed or pickled - yes.
Vegetables are quite another matter. Minds are full and raw, so we are happy to absorb some vegetables without any processing.
Tricky Nature
The poison found in mushrooms and plants has a bitter taste. Glucose required for brain function is sweet. Mineral salts are naturally salty. Organic acids are always with a pleasant acidity. So it is with the minds. Studies have shown that glutamate-rich foods are most beneficial.
In other words, what is dangerous to our health does not like our taste. And what is necessary attracts us. Scientists joke that for the same reason, Nature has made sex so enjoyable.
The minds are driving us
Have you ever been surprised to read recipes for appetizers with chicken or meat, which include a small amount of chopped anchovies? At first glance, a completely ridiculous combination, well, just neither fish nor meat. But what a result! Thank the ancient Romans - they once invented the “garum" - fermented fish sauce, which is similar in recipe to many sauces of the Far Eastern cuisine. The explanation is simple - fish proteins, when fermented, are broken down into amino acids, from which glutamate is easily secreted.
And how the children go crazy with the words "hamburger" and "pizza"! The point here is not at all the sweetness of the forbidden fruits, but just the fifth taste. Pepperoni sausages, cheese (especially mozzarella), mushrooms, beef cutlets - all this is simply glutamate-filled! But there is another ingredient that surpasses all the others combined - tomato paste. Tomato is the record holder among vegetables for the content of minds. Photos of pizza or fast food burgers make our salivary glands work more actively, even the appearance of glutamate-rich foods cannot leave us indifferent. What can I say about the smell!
Can you describe the taste of soy sauce in words? Tell me something other than being salty. But salt is salty! And adding a whole pair of spoons of soy sauce makes any dish kind of soulful. The thing is that this product can be called a solution of the minds, its content is so high in it.
By the way, probably this explains the worldwide love of Chinese cuisine. Indeed, it is true that not a single national cuisine has received such distribution and recognition as oriental one. Umami is used in it very widely, this explains everything.
Artificial counterpart
Does the word “glutamate” hurt your hearing? Unlike “minds,” this word is probably familiar to everyone. Any child will say that the glutamate flavor enhancer is always harmful and bad. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge often leads to misconceptions. In fact, glutamate contained in products is an absolutely natural substance, not harmful in the least, but even useful.
But dishonest businessmen have long figured out how to use our love of minds for personal gain. Chemically produced monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is actually of no benefit. But his main danger is different - they can generously flavor foods that are absolutely unhealthy for health, and our receptors will react in the same way. Therefore, people absorb cheap snacks and pastries.
Guard the good
Once, Professor Margot Gosni suggested using the minds in medical practice. For the first time, this was applied at the gerontological center where Professor Gosni worked.
The diet of patients with digestive problems has been revised. Of course, this concerned those who are inclined to refuse food, and not those who sin by overeating. A similar practice exists for the treatment of anorexia patients.
Note restaurateurs
Those who are building a restaurant business have long understood what the minds are. A good chef knows that in order to make guests simply happy, it is enough to combine 2-3 foods rich in minds in one dish. The impression of the restaurant's cuisine will be the best, it will want to come back again and again.
But some restaurateurs go the other way, although they know the magical power of their minds. Seasoning MSG replaces the useful (and expensive) ingredients, allowing you to get a “tasty taste” without further ado. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is quite common these days.
But in vain! Around is full of healthy foods, rich in minds. Combine them, experiment, and most importantly - trust your receptors.