Traditional Japanese Seasonings and Condiments: Umamification in the Plant-forward Cuisine

By: Ole G. Mouritsen and Minaka Ono

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Synopsis: Changes in eating behaviour towards a more plant-forward and sustainable diet require ways to prepare and impart, e.g., vegetables with those tastes, in particular umami, that humans crave as an evolutionary trait, but which plants generally lack due to fundamental plant biology. Food cultures like the traditional Japanese and other vegetarian or flexitarian Asian food cultures have over millennia developed means to umamify vegetables. This book describes such means in terms of powerful Japanese umami-rich condiments and points out how the use of these easily can by transitioned from traditional Japanese cuisine to apply in other food cultures where the challenge is to increase consumption of plant-based foods and cut down on meat without compromising taste. The book advocates that a flexitarian approach will be the most effective way to promote a sustainable plant-forward diet and eating behaviour to scale.