By now, you’re probably familiar with the standard umami bombs: Parmesan, miso, soy sauce and the like. But what about tomato juice, butter and walnuts? In this livestream workshop with guest teacher Marie Brennan, we’re getting into the hard science and advanced techniques of umami. We start with a discussion of glutamates, the building block of savory, satisfying, meaty umami flavor, and a review of how common—and not so common—kitchen staples stack up. You’ll expand your vocabulary to include kukumi, a sensation we’ve all experienced but may not have named. And we’ll discuss techniques that amplify umami, like fermenting, frying and roasting. We learn best while tasting, of course, so this workshop also generates a menu that is perfect for summer—quick-cooking but still richly flavored—that just happens to be vegetarian. You’ll make a uniquely balanced non-alcoholic Bloody Mary, wholewheat pasta with crisped mushrooms and kimchi (yes, kimchi deserves a place on your pasta plate!) and a Caesar-inspired salad that uses fresh greens as a canvas for mushroom bacon, tamari-roasted walnuts and a Caesar-inspired dressing with four umami-forward ingredients. All the while, we’ll be careful to avoid “umami overload” and discuss how confident cooks balance umami with sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

MENU

• Mushroom & Kimchi Pasta

• Green Salad with Caesar-ish Dressing, Tamari Walnuts and Mushroom “Bacon”

• Zero Proof Miso Bloody Mary