Pragma reviews Taste No. 5

History

Umami was identified in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a Tokyo chemist who pinpointed it as the savoury flavour imparted by foods rich in chemicals including glutamate, a building block of protein. He believed it was the 'fifth flavour' - a taste to join the already established tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

In 2000, researchers at the University of Miami discovered receptors on the tongue that react only to the presence of glutamate in food - suggesting that the body craves umami flavours as an indicator of protein in meat and vegetables.

Taste No 5 is the new umami paste by chef Laura Santtini, who has been fascinated by umami for some time. Taste No 5 is the combination of umami-rich Italian ingredients such as tomato, Parmesan cheese and porcini mushrooms into a single paste.
This product has received a lot of press attention through its use by chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and is now available at Waitrose (if you can get it before the latest delivery sells out) at £2.99 for a 70g tube.

Graphics 10/10

The overall impression is one of a high class cosmetic product - with a none-too-subtle nod to the fragrance innovator, Chanel No 5. This is surely no accident - as umami paste could make as radical a difference to the world of seasoning.

The duck-egg blue with bold black colour scheme is light years away from the bold, brash reds, yellows and greens of the seasonings shelf; and whilst the pack itself is very discreet, its very difference screams distinctiveness. The same differentiation applies to the inner tube - metallic silver - more akin to a tube of paint L'Occitane's hand cream.

The graphics are a riot of different fonts, styles and messages (`spellbinding flavours' `The Ultimate Scratch Cooking Tool' ‘Easy Tasty Magic' ‘a Laura Santtini preparation') which should not work together, but curiously do - giving the whole a quality retro feel, which enhances its mystique. A very cleverly designed product.
Overall, this looks and feels high quality and the £2.99 pricing seems remarkably low especially give the current level of demand.

Function 8/10

Little to comment here: a standard tube, easily squeezable. The metallic nature means you can roll the tube up to extract the very last bit of ‘magic'.

On-shelf 9/10

Taste No 5 does not demand attention on the shelf as the carton is slim and discreet. The priority has been given to the quality of the packaging, and given the attention this product has received, this has been the right decision. Once a consumer finds this product they cannot fail to be impressed by how it looks.

Overall 10/10

It is not often that a product comes onto the market with packaging this well done. We cannot fault it.