Pop Japan

It seems like nobody in the food industry has never heard the word ajinomoto. The Japanese word, ajinomoto can be divided into 3 parts: aji, no, moto. The first word, aji, means "taste." The second word, no, is a possessive Japanese particle which can be literally translated to the English preposition "of." The third word, moto, can be translated as "essence." When combined, this monosodium glutamate (MSG) product has been popularly known as the famous seasoning, Ajinomoto. It was discovered by Kikunae Ikeda, who soon patented the work, and was described by him as the chemical that brings the fifth taste called umami.

Photo by Dynomat. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Tags: food, ajinomoto, aji, no, moto, english, taste, essence, monosodium glutamate, msg, kikunae ikeda, umami