This grilled cheese recipe from the ‘Umami Bomb’ cookbook is one of the best we’ve tried in while and it’s peak comfort food. Agreat grilled cheesesandwich depends on several factors, but this genius umami-boosting secret ingredient is one grilled cheese trick you’ve never tried before.
Umamihas come a long way since 1908 when a Japanese chemist first isolated the savory flavor. For the better part of a century, folks debated whether it was indeed an official taste (along with sour, sweet, bitter, and salty) and though it’s been properly designated it’s still not as easily identified as the others.
Even if it’s not always at the forefront of our consciousness, umami is still truly beloved. Food rich in umami like miso,tomato sauce, soy, fish sauce,mushrooms, and nutty hardcheesesare very often the star flavor in some of our most crave-able foods. There’s no denying whatketchupmeans to a plate of fries orparmesanto a bowl of pasta, and we all have glorious umami to thank for that.
That’s much of what Raquel Pelzel was thinking when she wrote her latest cookbook, “Umami Bomb,” which delivers 75 (mostly) vegetarian recipes all bursting with umami like a simple soy marinara, andfalafel-spiced grilled mushrooms. Though not a fullvegetarianherself Pelzel hopes to promote more vegetable-eating for the health of ourselves (and the planet) and purports that adding more umami is a good way to make that proposition appealing.
Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese with Miso Butter
Umami often shows up when glutamates are released during the cooking of certain foods like onions, for instance.Caramelized onionsare one of the fastest ways to impart good umami into just about anything. This grilled cheese gets a second helping of umami from miso butter earning a rating of two (out of three) “Umami Bombs” from Pelzel in her book.
Pelzel says “avoid getting too excited and adding the miso butter to the outside of the bread—the miso will burn up before the bread gets toasty and golden.” This would also work great with Onion and Rosemary Jam (also from “Umami Bomb”) for a little sweetness.
