Umami, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes,. A loanword from the Japanese, umami can be translated pleasant savory taste. This particular writing was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai delicious and mi taste. The kanji 旨味 are used for a more general meaning to describe a food as delicious. The human tongue has receptors for L-glutamate, which is the source of umami flavor. For that reason, scientists consider umami to be distinct from saltiness.