Kikunae Ikeda

Kikunae Ikeda (池田 菊苗) was a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor in Chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical root behind a taste he named umami. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty.

He discovered the common component that produced the flavor of meat, seaweed and tomatoes was glutamate, which produces the sensation of umami.

He also patented the manufacture of monosodium glutamate.