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n I mentioned ozmazone yesterdaynand promised to write more about it, and sooner is better than later, so whatnis it and where can you get some? The word is spelled variously, as ozmazone,nozmazome, osmazome and osmasome, and was used by the great Brillat-Savarin innhis seminal 1825 Physiologie Du Goût (The Physiology of Taste, or ThenScience of Good Living), in which we find,
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n“The greatest service whichnchemistry has rendered alimentary science is the discovery, or exactndefinition, rather, of osmazome. Osmazome is that specially sapid part of meatnwhich is soluble in cold water, and therefore to be distinguished from then”essence,” which is soluble only in boiling water.”n
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| Brillat-Savarin – Physiologie Du Goût (1889 trans.) |
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nHe adds that it –
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n“… forms thencrisp brown on roasts, and which yields a flavour to venison and game. Osmazomenis derived principally from full grown animals, with reddish or dark flesh.”n
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nIt is the basis of excellent stock, that essential of any decent kitchen, whichnis made simply by a good chef and with difficulty, if at all, by a bad one. Itnis one of those things, like plain boiled rice, that is so easy to get wrongnbut after it has been done properly once, it is never done poorly ever again.
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| Mrs Beeton – Soups |
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nThere are but three things to remember; first, to put aside any clean off-cutsnof vegetables and red meat, second, to start the stock from cold, and lastly,nto let the stock pot simmer, or ‘smile’ as it is called, for a long,nlong time. Now, with these things in mind, start by taking the vegetable scrapsnthat you have saved. It doesn’t really matter what they are, as long as theynare clean and raw. To these, add celery (leaves and all), carrots (with thentops) and onion (a combination called the ‘Trinity’), all roughlynchopped. In the stock pot put a pound of beef – shin is best, rump is fine,nskirt or brisket are OK – wiped but not washed, and loosely diced, togethernwith what other bits you have (raw bones, bacon rinds, trimmings) but NO FAT.nAnd no flour, thickened sauces or anything cooked. Add two or three pints ofncold water and very slowly, bring this to a boil and immediately turn down thenheat and allow the pot to ‘smile’. A bouquet of fresh pot herbs may be added.nPeriodically, skim off any fat that rises to the top. And that’s it.
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| Stock |
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nIf younstart with hot or boiling water, the meat locks in the osmazome and the flavournwill not be imparted to the stock. If you add anything cooked, the stock maynbecome sour (especially in summer); if you add anything floury, the stock willnbe cloudy. Cooked properly, the stock will have a good, meaty, round taste. That,nas Brillat-Savarin thought, came from the osmazome (the word comes from thenGreek, meaning ‘meat broth’), although others were of the opinion that it camenfrom the fibrin in the meat, altered by the water. By the by, that red stuffnthat comes out of red meat which you might think is blood isn’t blood at all,nit’s myoglobin. Other writers of the time also wrote about the merits ofnosmazome – Mrs Beeton, Eliza Acton, Escoffier, William Kitchiner and CharlesnSelby amongst them.
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nIn fact, it is glutamate, one of the twentieth most commonnamino acids – a substance that you may have heard of from thatnheadache-inducing additive to Chinese takeaways, monosodium glutamate (MSG).nThis is just a delivery system for the glutamate (which binds readily tonsodium), which occurs naturally in red meat, mushrooms, human breastmilk,nshellfish, tomatoes and blue cheeses, amongst other things.
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| Cheese – rich in umami |
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nThese days we callnit umami, a loanword from Japanese meaning ‘delicious savoury taste’,nand now recognised as one of the five principle tastes (along with sweet, sour,nbitter and salty). Umami is that savoury, meaty, brothy flavour, hard tondescribe but delicious when experienced, a sort of warm, ‘furry’, moreish tastenthat professional restaurants strive for. It works best when combined withnother flavours, as it enhances them and make them more intense and flavoursome.nGood examples are chicken, leeks and prunes (as with Scottish Cock-a-Leekiensoup) or the Italian pairing of tomato and Parmesan cheese.
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| Kikunae Ikeda |
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nUmami was firstnidentified as such by Kikunae Ikeda, a chemistry professor at Tokyo University,nin 1908, but its roots stretch back to antiquity – see here for some fishnsauces (all rich in umami). If you don’t already do so, try adding a splash ofna fish based sauce to meat stews – put a dash of Worcestershire sauce intonchilli con carne or ragu sauce, or stir a little Gentleman’s Relish into yournSteak and Kidney pud mix (a variation is hark back to an old-fashioned recipe,nand pop in a few oysters. It’s what the Victorians did). Grate a littlenParmesan into a plain tomato sauce, or just add a few mushrooms to it. One ofnmy favourites in to spread some mango chutney onto a slice of wholemeal toast,ncrumble some blue Stilton on, dribble with a little Worcestershire sauce and brown it under the grill. Don’t forgetnto treat yourself to a glass of stout or brown ale to help wash it down. Lovely!
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