The tastes of individual amino acids were characterized as being sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or MSG-like. The contribution of amino acids to the taste of various foodstuffs is discussed. The tastes of various peptides were characterized as being sour, bitter, or practically tasteless. Peptides from sake, soy sauce, and partial hydrolyzates of soybean protein were isolated and their tastes, as well as other properties, described.The importance of amino acids in contributing to the taste of foodstuffs was first recognized by Ikeda at Tokyo University in 1908 (Ikeda, 1908). He discovered that monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) was the essential component of the taste-imparting ingredients of traditional Japanese food seasoners, such as sea tangle (a type of seaweed). At that time the taste of traditional Japanese foods such as sake, miso, and soy sauce were presumed to be due to the amino acids which were released from the natural proteins during the course of fermentation. In addition, the taste of cheese had been known, in Europe and the United States, to be characterized by amino acids formed during the ripening process.

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