It’s the flavour that was always there, long before a name was put to it. That deep, savoury taste woven into island cooking. Born of the sea, seasoned by salt and time. It’s that elusive taste that defies description yet draws you back for another bite: an invisible ingredient that speaks in sensations, not words.
In a handful of Canarian kitchens, chefs are experimenting with ways to harness the umami already present in the archipelago’s pantry. By applying salting and ageing techniques to premium local fish—such as vieja (parrotfish), cherne (wreckfish), bocinegro (blackspot seabream), mackerel and smaller tuna species—they’re creating potent concentrates. These aren’t ingredients in their own right, but rich, savoury seasonings used to lift a dish.
This new line of exploration is still in its infancy. It’s a romantic blend of alchemy and age-old techniques with modern processes, technology and the precision of the lab. The prize—the ‘gold’—is a natural version of MSG (monosodium glutamate): a complex, saline and elegant kind of umami. And the ocean isn’t the only possible source; this naturally occurring, Canarian “MSG” could be drawn from vegetables, fruit, cheeses, flowers, roots or spices.
All that remains is to decide the final form: a potent liquid concentrate, a rich paste not unlike Japanese miso, or delicate dry flakes.
