one on its own. Why does the combination work
better than just one? Well, glutamates are the kings
of meatiness, but there’s a second chemical, disodium
inosinate, that has been found to work in synergy
with glutamic acid to increase the savoriness of food.
In fact, in the August 2006 issue of the Journal of
Food Science, researcher Shizuko Yamaguchi found
that the synergistic effect of the two compounds is in
fact quantifiable!
So, combine the two, and you get a synergistic
effect, making each more powerful than if used on its
own. Think of inosinates as the Robin to glutamate’s
Batman—they aren’t necessary for the job, but they
sure help an awful lot.§ By curing pork and fish, say,
into prosciutto and Thai fish sauce, you can create a
superconcentrated sources of inosinates. Anchovies
actually have quite high levels of inosinate—more
than they need to balance out their own levels of
glutamate—while Marmite and soy don’t have much
at all. Combining the inosinate in the anchovies with
the glutamate in the soy and Marmite makes for the
ultimate combination.

GLUTAMATE   CONTENT IN  COMMON

INGREDIENTS

Many foods that we cook with every day are

high in glutamates. Here’s a chart of their relative
glutamate content.