Umami, What!?

Umami Dust is an essential for any kitchen, but most people have never heard of it. We discovered it while researching unique flavors for bison burger recipes. Umami is the fifth flavor. The first four flavors are sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Umami is a flavor all to itself—not quite describable other than to say that it is the fifth scientifically recognized flavor known to man. In Japanese the word literally translates to savory deliciousness. Umami Dust adds an instant savory unique flavor and mysterious depth to any food it is dusted upon.

We served samples of our Umami Dust at the Franklin Farmers Market sprinkled on top of Sirloin Bison Steak. It was a huge hit and we sold out before we could hand out even a quarter of our samples. On Saturday we re-introduced Umami Dust in a soft roll-out with new packaging and it again was a hot commodity.

We make our Umami Dust from locally grown fresh Shitake Mushrooms, Bonita Flakes and Kombu. It is the perfect accompaniment to any meat, vegetable or starch dish. We are big fan of it on bison steaks and bison burgers. Most people are familiar with Umami from Umami Burgers served at Smashburger and Umami Burger in New York City and beyond now. Umami is not cooked into your dish, but instead sprinkled lightly on top just before serving to unlock an incredible depth of flavor.

Did I lose you when I said that we make ours with locally grown Shitake Mushrooms? Have no fear. You can’t taste the mushrooms and if it is a texture thing you are worried about the mushrooms are dehydrated and obviated into tiny dust particles. Maybe you are familiar with Bonita and know that it is a dried fish product and you hate fish…no worries…you can’t taste the fish either. And again, no texture issues because the Bonita has been pulverized into dust as well. You might be thinking, “I don’t eat seaweed, even the edible variety.” Think of it as a sea vegetable. And not to scare you away from dessert, but seaweed is commonly used to gel and stabilize dairy products and ice cream, so everyone eats seaweed. They just don’t know it! (Check the ingredients in your kitchen for carrageenans, alginates and beta carotene—we will wait.)

We are all about full disclosure here at Red Cedar Bison so we would never slip mushrooms, seaweed and fish secretly into your diet. Just trust us—Umami Dust is what your kitchen has been missing.