Umami in a Bowl: Chunky Mushroom Artichoke Dip

Creamy, cheesy and chock full of juicy sauteed mushrooms and tangy marinated artichokes, this luscious mushroom artichoke dip is a mushroom lover’s dream. This dip is the essence of umami: the fifth taste we humans crave.

I loved this dip so much, I found myself eating it for breakfast several days in a row! Who eats dip for breakfast? I know, it’s odd, but there it was, staring at me in the face first thing in the morning when I opened up the fridge. I just couldn’t resist. A couple days I actually circled back and ate it again later in the day.

I ate the entire batch all by myself and never tired of it. Seriously, this is really a feat for me. I tend to get all smitten with a new dish for one day or maybe for a couple days. But then after that, my fickle pickiness tends to turn to other pastures. Not so with this one, though! It’s akin to my Triscuit Tuna Melts, which I never seem to tire of.

What’s Umami?

Whenever I use the word “umami” in a post, I feel like I should explain. In addition to the four basic tastes we are all familiar with (sweet, sour, bitter, and salty), there is a fifth one called umami. Umami is a Japanese word that translates to “essence of deliciousness.” We humans actually have umami receptors on our tongues to sense this taste.

But to describe how umami tastes seems to elude many of us. Some say umami is the meaty flavor that deepens flavor, but umami doesn’t have to come from meat. Umami is present in our everyday food. We find umami in meat and fish, yes, but also in cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, and onions, to name a few.

The umami in many foods is accentuated once their glutamates have been broken down through the processes of fermentation, aging, or curing. Aged cheese is full of umami, as is soy sauce, fish sauce and Sriracha, all fermented sauces.

When you look at the ingredients for this dip, you might notice several of them are full of umami. Cheese, mushrooms, artichokes and onions. You can deepen the umami by using aged cheeses like Parmesan or aged cheddar.

I hope you find this healthy, chunky dip equally as enticing as I did. Too bad I’m all out of mushrooms or I’d make more!

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