Savoring the Fifth Taste

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You know sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. But do you know umami, the fifth taste?

Attend the “Umami Symposium: New Frontiers of Taste,” 11:30 a.m. July 21 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, and you’ll know it even better. The event, hosted by the Umami Information Center, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of umami in Tokyo, Japan.

Umami is the savory flavor we can’t get enough of in so many foods. Think Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, cured ham, soy sauce, chicken soup, meat, and fish.

The event leads off with a panel discussion featuring smell and taste scientists; food writer and food scientist Harold McGee; Kunio Tokuoka, executive chef of Kyoto Kitcho in Japan; and Master of Wine Tim Hanni. Following that, a multi-course lunch will be served, with each dish demonstrating the irresistible nature of umami. Tokuoka will prepare the dishes, along with chefs Hiro Sone of Ame in San Francisco and Terra in St. Helena; and Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in Yountville.

Tickets are $100. But hurry — registration ends July 7.

If you miss that event, you can still enjoy a feast of umami at Ame, which will be offering a special tasting menu focusing on the fifth flavor,  July 14 to Aug. 3. The five-course dinner is $85, plus an additional $65 for wine pairings. Dishes include broiled sake-marinated black cod in shiso broth, grilled Berkshire pork on Carolina gold rice with tomato “risotto,” and caramel ice cream with shoyu powder.

The Guys From Incanto Present Boccalone Salumeria

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Boccalone orange and wild fennel salame (foreground); and brown sugar and fennel salame (background).

Mmmm, pork, pork, and more pork.

You’ll find all that and more at the new Boccalone Salumeria in the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace.

It’s the artisan charcuterie mecca founded by the two guys from Incanto restaurant in San Francisco, Proprieter Mark Pastore, and Executive Chef Chris Cosentino.

With more than 20 varieties of handmade cured meats, you’ll be hard pressed to pick just one. Choose from  pancetta, lonza (cured pork loin), hard-to-find lardo (cured pork fat), and out-of-this-world orange & wild fennel salame, among others. Salumi is sliced to order. And hungry customers can order up paninis and salumi platters.

If the Ferry Building is out of your way, you also can order products online to satisfy your cravings.


A Taste of Summer

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Edamame shiso salad with yuzu vinaigrette

Bright, fresh, and a snap to make, this salad is the perfect starter or side for the lazy days of summer.

If you keep a bag of frozen edamame in your freezer and grow your own shiso plant in your garden as I do, you can put this dish together anytime the mood strikes. I love this floral , tangy, crisp vinaigrette also on chilled green beans, fava beans, peas, asparagus, or salad greens. I think you’ll find it’s definitely a keeper to add to your culinary repertoire.

This wonderful recipe is from The Breakaway Cook by San Franciscan Eric Gower, who has a knack for using Japanese ingredients in clever, yet simple ways.

Edamame shiso salad with yuzu vinaigrette

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A New Kind of Drinkable Chocolate

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Cabaret Brewed Chocolate

It’s not like hot cocoa. It’s not like hot chocolate. And it’s definitely not at all like chocolate milk.

Cabaret Brewed Chocolate is all together different. Rob Polevoi’s Oakland company brews whole cacao beans in water to extract every last bit of flavor. It’s similar to the way coffee is brewed from coffee beans, only this takes much longer.

The resulting liquid is mixed with just a bit of organic sugar, then reduced down to a concentrated syrup. Stir a teaspoon into a small cup of hot water and — voila! — you have brewed chocolate to enjoy. Each teaspoon weighs in at only 24 calories, too.

Mixed with hot water, it creates a relaxing beverage.The beverage is light in body, akin to coffee. The taste isn’t heavy and super rich like that of hot chocolate. Instead, it is delicate, refreshing, and a little like chocolate-covered toffee in liquid form. It’s a very soothing drink to sip.

A 6-ounce jar is $14.95 and available online at the link above.

Culinary Luminaries Descend Upon Los Altos Hills July 19

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Chef Christopher KostowÂ

We’re talking a stellar line-up of some of the Bay Area’s best chefs: Christopher Kostow of the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, Cal Stamenov of Marinus at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, Alessandro Cartumini of Quattro in the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley in East Palo Alto, Daniel Patino of Michael Mina’s Arcadia in San Jose, Xavier Salomon of the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, and Robert Holt of Cetrella in Chef Daniel Patino. Photo by Chris Schmauch.Half Moon Bay.

That whet your whistle?

Then, you’ll want to attend the 26th annual Vintage Affaire gala in Los Altos Hills on July 19. The event is held at a different private estate each year that can accommodate 500 guests.

Enjoy a silent auction, then a sit-down dinner, followed by a live auction. McCall Catering will handle the duties for the dinner, and the six top chefs will be doling out specialty appetizers during the silent auction. Look for Stamenov to serve up duck foie blond salad with pickled Bing cherries; and PaChef Cal Stamenovtino to offer Mina’s signature osetra caviar parfait.

Tickets are $250. Upon purchase, guests will receive the address of the host estate in Los Altos Hills. The event is a benefit for Vista Center for the blind and visually impaired. Over the past 25 years, Vintage Affaire has raised more than $5.5 million for the center.

Tickets are available by calling (650) 858-0202 or by clicking here.

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