Food and life flavors

Food as life can be simply delicious or a terrible disaster. See, life to me is like a complete menu, where you mix flavors, colors, textures and sensations. So here is the tricky part; if you don't know how to blend the ingredients properly, you may end up creating something you will regret for good. I mean, sweet is supposed to taste sweet, not bitter, unless of course you meant for it to taste like that, which I consider simply not right. Yes, yes, you can use some bitter-sweet touches here and there, but not like totally bitter. Well, a couple of things you learn from bitterness is that; one, you discovered the flavor in your mouth, and then you realized how bad it tastes (when is not supposed to taste like that); and two, you know what went wrong and swear never ever to do the same mistake again... right? As in life, with food you have to be careful; choose the wrong ingredients and you'll be really unhappy.
Once again I'm rambling, but don't fear, I do have a point. Umami, you know what that is? I'll give you the Wikipedia concept (I'm quoting, not stealing): Umami, popularly referred to as savoriness, has been proposed as one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue . Umami is a loanword from Japanese meaning "flavor" or "taste" (noun). In English, however, "brothy ", "meaty ", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations. In as much as it describes the flavor common to savory products such as meat, cheese, and mushrooms , umami is similar to Brillat-Savarin 's concept of osmazome, an early attempt to describe the main flavoring component of meat as extracted in the process of making stock .
Ummm... you know what that is right? MSG!!!! That nasty ingredients most of us have banned from our kitchens. But I have to confess that I've learned how to use it and take advantage of it because this controversial ingredient DOES enhance flavors (too bad we can't use it to enhance our lives). I just want to clarify something, I'm not suggesting you use it, I'm just making a point; you can use it, try it, experiment with it and IF (huge IF) you happen to like it, well there you go! Try mixing it with the other four flavors (sweet, salty, bitter and sour) and you'll see what I mean... just please, don't add it to your next chocolate cake ;)
Tomorrow I'll share something called "Cassarola Italiana", it's very easy to cook, cheap and definitely yummy. And, I'll give you the "healthier" option for it as well.

Have a good Friday my friends...