Umami?

Archaeoblog posted some notes about garum that make it start to make a little culinary sense. Fermented fish sounds dreadful at best, but the processing cleaned out the stench, and there was enough umami to make it a versatile seasoning.

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I've been learning a little about umami since I decided to start trying to make my own miso soup. The miso base is generally a kelp broth with some dried fish flakes, but I've been experimenting. So far most have been OK, but ... a cook has to eat his mistakes.