Dr. Ikeda's essence of taste?
Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University (1908 ) thought that a flavor other than sweet, sour, salty and spicy existed and proceeded to ascertain its original form. This flavor is called "umai" in Japanese and is best translated as "delicious." His experiments resulted in the discovery that the "delicious" flavor of kombu (a type of seaweed) comes from a compound and invented a method of obtaining the flavor in its purest form. This was nothing but Monosodium Glutamate!
Commercial production of this monosodium glutamate was carried out by Saburosuke Suzuki, the founder of Ajinomoto Co. Inc, under request from Kikunae Ikeda. Dr. Ikeda's invention, sold under the name Ajinomoto. The literal translation of Aji no Moto is “Essence of Taste.
Some more for trivia buffs:
1. Ajinomoto Co. is also a leading supplier of the Amino Acid L-Glutamine and Aspartame (or artifical sweetner)
2. Ajinomoto Co. is active in 100 countries and regions worldwide, employing around 24,861 people as of 2004. Yearly revenue stands at US$9.84 billion
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