FOOD NEWS
The 2 Umami-Rich Ingredients You Should Utilize For Your Meat Marinade
By Ashlyn Frassinelli
Every good meat marinade contains an acid for the enzymatic breakdown of muscle fibers, oil to keep the meat moisturized, and seasonings like salt, spices, herbs, or sauces.
Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce are two of the best additions for infusing a rich, savory, umami flavor into your meat, whether you're marinating steak, beef, pork, or chicken.
Fostering that umami flavor in a marinade has everything to do with amino acids — specifically, glutamic acid. This is the compound that gives savory foods their distinct flavor.
Soy sauce has plenty of glutamic acid, along with 19 other amino acids that are created as a result of the breakdown of soybean proteins during the soy sauce-making process.
Worcestershire sauce is made of plenty of strong ingredients, such as malt vinegar and molasses, but anchovies are what really pack umami and depth of flavor.
If soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce won't cut it, another way to kick up the umami flavor in a marinade and enhance the meat's flavor is to use MSG (monosodium glutamate).