12 Feb 2010 --- Waitrose is the first supermarket to introduce Taste No. 5, the exquisite new paste by chef Laura Santtini which can transform even the blandest of meals into something truly extraordinary. Based on the notion of the fifth taste of ‘umami’, this secret pioneering recipe will enhance the flavour of any savoury dish.

The existence of the umami taste was first discovered early last century by the Japanese and has only recently been accepted by Western scientists. By no means limited to Japanese cuisine, umami is a borrowed word which roughly translates as ‘deliciousness’. Scientifically speaking umami is the intensely savoury taste imparted by glutamates and five ribonucleotides which occur naturally in many foods such as meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. Previously only sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes have been universally recognised.

Laura Santtini is a renowned cook and food writer, who began her professional cooking career working for Justin de Blank at his National Gallery restaurant. Following her father’s retirement in 2002, Laura took over the family restaurant, Santini, Belgravia. As an elegant and influential stalwart of the UK’s Italian restaurant scene, Laura’s task was to take Santini into the future without losing past values. After almost eight years working at the restaurant and having successfully re-launched it into the 21st century, Laura stepped away from the daily running of Santinti to pursue her writing and develop her ‘Easy Tasty Magic’ range.
 
Laura has long been fascinated with umami and, after much research into the subject, about how different ingredients can be combined to maximise the potency of the end result, her new paste was born. Taste No. 5 is the result of her combining the most umami-rich Italian ingredients such as tomato, Parmesan cheese and porcini mushrooms into a single paste that can be simply rubbed, squeezed or spread for explosive results.

Designed to become your favourite squeeze, Taste No. 5 adds depth to sauces, gravies and risottos. It can be added as a flavour bomb to anything from grills, roasts and bakes to pastas, soups and stews or simply used on its own as a condiment for panini, crostini and dressings. Taste No 5 is £2.99 for 70g, and will be sold in 194 Waitrose branches from February 15th.