Umami

Umami (旨味 - chinese pronunciation is zhǐ wei) is one of the five generally recognized basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human tongue. Umami is a loanword from Japanese meaning roughly "tasty", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations.

MSG

Umami as a separate taste was first identified in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University while researching the strong flavor in seaweed broth. Ikeda isolated monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the chemical responsible and, with the help of the Ajinomoto company, began commercial distribution of MSG products.