My dad refuses to eat anything with MSG. He is not allergic — he just read one article in the 90s and decided it was bad. So when I cook for family dinners, I have to find other ways to get that deep savory richness into the food. Turns out there are a lot of them, and some taste even better than the powder.

The umami shortcut nobody talks about

Grated Parmesan rind. You know that hard end piece of Parmesan you usually throw away? Do not. Drop it into soups, stews, tomato sauce, or risotto while they simmer. It releases glutamates — the exact same compounds that give MSG its savory punch — plus a nutty cheese depth that MSG does not have.

I keep a bag of rinds in my freezer now. Every time a wedge of Parmesan gets down to the rind, it goes in the bag. When I am making minestrone or Sunday sauce, one rind goes into the pot. Fish it out before serving. The broth tastes richer and rounder, and my dad never asks questions.

Six more ways to build umami

1. Tomato paste, browned. Squeeze a tablespoon into a hot pan with oil before you add anything else. Let it sizzle until it turns brick red and smells intense — about two minutes. This caramelizes the natural glutamates. I do this for chili, Bolognese, lentil soup, even sauteed greens.
2. Dried mushrooms, ground. Throw dried shiitake or porcini into a spice grinder. The resulting powder is pure umami dust. A teaspoon in meatloaf, burger patties, or gravy and nobody can name what they are tasting — they just know it is good.
3. Fish sauce. Just a few drops. I know. Fish sauce in non-Asian food sounds weird. But two or three drops in beef stew or tomato sauce does not taste fishy at all. It adds a savory backbone. Restaurants do this constantly.
4. Soy sauce in Western dishes. A splash of soy sauce in browned butter for pasta, in salad dressing instead of salt, or in the liquid for pot roast. It reads as “seasoned” not “soy.”
5. Nutritional yeast. The vegan secret weapon. Sprinkle it on popcorn, stir into mashed potatoes, add to breadcrumb coatings. It tastes cheesy and savory. My dad calls it “hippie flakes” but he eats it.
6. Anchovy paste. Half a teaspoon melted into the oil at the start of any sauteed dish. It dissolves completely. You will never taste anchovy. You will taste “why is this so good.”

The real lesson

Umami is not one ingredient. It is a category. Once you start recognizing which foods are glutamate-rich — aged cheeses, cured meats, dried mushrooms, fermented sauces, tomatoes — you stop reaching for a single fix and start layering. Two or three umami sources in one dish is where the magic lives. Nobody at the table needs to know how you did it.