Ikeda filed a patent in 1909 to produce the world’s first umami seasoning: AJI-NO-MOTO ®. Tasting the crystals, he recognized a distinct savory flavor he dubbed umami, based on the Japanese word umai (delicious).
Evaporating and treating his wife’s kombu broth, he was able to extract a crystalline compound, which turned out to be glutamic acid. Ikeda pointed to the dried seaweed called kombu, or kelp, that she used to make her traditional Japanese dashi, or broth. Kikunae Ikeda asked his wife a question that would change the history of food: What gave her vegetable and tofu soup its delicious meaty flavor? Mrs.
One evening over dinner in 1908, one of the Ajinomoto Group’s founders, biochemist Dr.
AJI-NO-MOTO ® is produced through the fermentation of plant-based ingredients such as sugar cane, sugar beets, cassava or corn.
