#OysterAglioOlio

20251207 #breakfastdiary day 1581, 2°C/mostly clear The author gets a little tense explaining umami, the last of humanity's discovered tastes. Not only has there long been disagreement over whether umami even counts as a basic taste, there's also the issue of monosodium glutamate — MSG — the compound that produces it. The author argues that most of the studies behind claims that MSG is harmful to the body have methodological problems. He admits he always keeps MSG on hand and adds a bit here and there, but backs off from telling others what to do, saying actual use should follow each person's own experience. In other words, there's no reason to avoid an effective tool that can revive a dish's flavor with just a small amount — but there's also no need to use it while feeling guilty about it. (Lee Yoo-jin, 'Don't underestimate the smell of a potato... the flavor scientist's "laws of taste"') No nagging guilty-pleasure feeling here — just naturally occurring glutamate and inosinate, packed with umami, flavored with mentaiko: 650kcal #OysterAglioOlio

1 sourdough loaf, 200g oysters, olive oil, 1/2 lemon, 10 cloves garlic, 1T mentaiko, 1/2T butter, pepper, crushed red pepper, a little chives

1. Rub the oysters with coarse salt and rinse thoroughly. Do the same with the lemon, rubbing it with coarse salt to clean it. 2. Slice the lemon thinly, and cut the garlic into thick slices for texture. 3. Heat olive oil in a pot, sauté the garlic, then add the prepped oysters. Lower the heat, add the mentaiko, butter, and pepper for umami, and cook through, then turn off the heat and add crushed red pepper and chopped chives. 4. Eat on top of sourdough.

Inspired by @yongin_sister