I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this lovely and fun cookbook for free in exchange for my honest opinion--because, honestly, I really like it. (Isn't a relief when you actually like the ARC you're given?) I liked almost everything about Umami Bomb, starting with the layout and photography, which was bright and eye catching and fun. it made me not only hungry, but also excited to read the book and try the recipes. The recipes themselves sounded incredibly tasty--it turns out that the fifth taste, umami, is pretty much my favorite flavor in anything, so this was a wonderful cookbook concept for me. While many of the specific recipes weren't ideal for me (I am gluten free and try to limit dairy and egg consumption for various reasons, and it seemed like there were a lot of recipes in here that used one or more of the above, including an entire chapter on aged cheese.), many others were, and I feel like I learned so much about umami flavor, sources, and methods of cooking to maximize the flavor. I especially loved the author's method of giving each recipe an 'umami bomb' rating of how many different sources of umami were included. I appreciated the side bars as well, especially the one on seaweed, which I really wish had been expanded into a chapter of its own (I love sea vegetables!). I even appreciated the bonus chapter on fish, which I occasionally eat. My only concern is that many of the recipes sound complex. I'm hoping they are less intimidating to actually make than they were to read. I can't wait to try some of these recipes, though, and to put the principles I've learned and ideas it's given me into practice.
Since I read this on a program on my PC instead of on a portable device, it's not idea for using for actual cooking, so I haven't actually tried any of the recipes yet. For those purposes, I guess I'll have to wait til the book is released and buy a copy for my cookbook library. I look forward to trying many of them, including miso-glazed roasted vegetables, mushroom and hoisin eggplant stir fry, roasted tomato butter, smoked tofu breakfast tacos, honey-soy grilled salmon, and better-than-movie popcorn, among others.
#umamibomb was fun. Thanks #Netgalley !

The beautiful, full page food porn photography is incredible! I’m finding a lot of recipes that seem too sophisticated for my very basic kitchen, but the author provides enough encouragement that I truly want to try. The tacos alone are a revelation.

Rachel Pelzel’s love of food bursts from the bright pages of Umami Bomb.
She explains what umami is and why it is important in adding the satisfaction factor to non-meat dishes.
I still can’t say I fully understand it – why, for example, isn’t soy classified as a ‘salty’ taste? – it tastes salty to me. But, I tried some of Pelzels recipes and ideas and they did go down well.
With straightforward recipes and pictures that explode with colour, ‘Umami Bomb’ is a likeable and useful addition to the kitchen bookshelf.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I was expecting it to be more suited to vegans since it's supposed to be vegetarian alternatives to the meaty umami foods like bacon. While I'm not vegan, I am always looking for vegan recipes for various reasons. It's got some vegan recipes but it's not really even vegetarian. There are lots of references to meat and it includes a fish section. The author says she eats mostly vegetarian for environmental reasons, but she has no apparent issues with using lots of animal products like cheese and butter, or with consuming fish and shellfish. Because of that, it's hard to tell who the intended audience is.

I love cooking with umami flavors and as someone who tries to cook vegetarian (for ethical and environmental reasons among others), I was really looking forward to learning some new tricks. I cook gluten free, though, which limited a lot of the recipes, and also try to cook fairly healthy, which limited more. And while I do cook with eggs (from folks we know with back yard chickens) and dairy products, I do try to use less.

Most of the recipes seemed rather complicated and not very healthy. As an example, the very first recipe is for breakfast pasta. It's made with cooked spaghetti, bread crumbs, two kinds of cheese, eggs, butter and spices. Refined flour, eggs and lots of dairy. I'm sure it tastes nice, but I really am more interested in recipes that taste great and are actually nourishing. There are plenty of dishes in the world that do both. Other recipes in the book were fairly healthy, but didn't sound particularly appealing (savory mushroom breakfast porridge is one example).

The chapters (umami flavors) are parmesan and other cheeses, soy sauce, tomatoes, caramelized onions, mushrooms, miso, smoke and nutritional yeast, with a bonus fish chapter. Color photos accompany about 1/3 of the recipes. No nutritional information is provided. Those who are gluten free, vegan, paleo or keto will need to substitute heavily and skip many of the dishes.

This would be a great cookbook for vegetarian folks who are not dieting and have a fair amount of time for cooking, and for folks who follow the Standard American Diet but are trying to eat less meat. Most of the recipes are pretty kid-friendly, though the intense flavors may put some kids off.

All in all it seems like an interesting, fun cookbook, just not a great fit for me personally.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

Interesting cookbook! While a lot of the recipes looked familiar, I am looking forward to the umami twist and giving them a try.

I like the layout of this book. Rather than arranging recipes by type (main dish, sides, etc), these are arranged by main ingredient. This is great when looking for a recipe that features, say, mushrooms. Or if you don't want a cheesy recipe, skip that chapter. Most of the recipes are vegetarian, though not all. There is a section of recipes based around fish, which I think makes this cookbook a better fit for omnivores or pescetarians rather than vegetarians. I do appreciate that the vegan recipes are marked clearly. This isn't one I would add to my own collection, but I do think there's an audience for it.

Thank you to Workman Publishing Company and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Umami is sometimes considered the fifth taste and ingredients that rate high with this characteristic enhance the flavor of other foods. Each of the recipes in this book uses one or more high umami ingredients. The book is divided into sections featuring particular umami ingredients: parmesan and other aged cheeses, soy sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms, caramelized onions, miso, smoke and nutritional yeast. There is also a bonus section with 3 fish recipes. Other than this last section, all of the recipes are vegetarian and some are vegan. The recipes are clearly presented and seem easy to follow, but some have a lot of ingredients. Some, but not all, of the recipes have photos. There are also photos that just show ingredients, which I consider an unnecessary waste of space. Why not use that space to show completed dishes?

There were a few recipes that I might try. The caramelized onion grilled cheese sandwich looked wonderful. The section on miso has already had an impact on my life because I bought a jar of miso today for the first time (although I don’t think I’ll be trying the miso butterscotch sundae).

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I am not a vegetarian but I have been making a conscious effort to have my family eat less meat. I have only made a few of these recipes so far, but my meat eating family LOVES them and doesn't even perceive them as vegetarian. This will be my cookbook for this summer!

Interesting take on a recipe book. Fresh, new look and some exciting new ways to look at food. Not that I need any more ways to look at food. Definitely some inspiring recipes inside.

Didn’t know there was a fifth taste. But love it. Not a vegetarian but have vegan a more plant based lifestyle and this cookbook is rich with flavor. Not boring at all

This is a really well designed and intriguing cookbook. The pictures are really gorgeous, and it's arranged by featured ingredients (mushrooms, miso, cheese, etc.) so that one can easily find something to interest the palate. Although a few of them seem a bit complicated, or contain ingredients you might not be familiar with, the results promise to tingle the taste buds.

What is “umami?” It is as defined by Webster’s dictionary : a taste sensation that is meaty or savory and is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides (as aspartate, inosinate, and glutamate) Other Words from umami. umami adjective. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines umami as “a strong taste that is not sweet, sour, salty, or bitter and that is often referred to as "the fifth taste": The paste is based on the fifth taste, umami, which is the intensely savoury taste imparted by glutamates that occur naturally in many foods.”
Your taste buds will definitely be tantalized by these recipes! Most of these recipes are vegan-based, but there are some fish recipes too!
The first recipe is for a breakfast pasta that uses spaghetti, breadcrumbs, cheese and eggs to make a very filling dish. The Gouda Apple Thyme Galettes are made with flour, butter, apples and Gouda cheese that look scrumptious and take about 2 1/2 hours to prepare and bake.
There are also recipes that contain soy sauce such as fried rice with endame, red peppers and scallions, a chocolate cake recipe with soy sauce and an easy recipe for roasted tomatoes.
There is a whole chapter dedicated to mushrooms, there is a mushroom tea or broth recipe that uses shiitake mushrooms, ginger, onions and scallions. There is a grilled pizza recipe that uses mushrooms, peppers, soy marinara and onions. The Savory Mushroom, Potato and Parmesan Bread Pudding recipe takes time, but its’ richness is worth the wait!
You will enjoy making and eating these unique recipes!

I loved the layout of this book and all the recipes sound so good I can’t wait to try them out and see how good they are!

Really enjoyed this Umami Bomb cookbook. Raquel Pelzel has put together a fantastic collection of recipes-all of which are vegetarian-that each bring a slam of umami. Umami is that fifth taste, the one that’s a little savory, a little salty but very deep and just a bit hard to describe. Pelzel has an entire chapter that highlights Parmesan cheese for example. The first recipe for Breakfast Pasta already had my mouth watering, and the others sound just as delicious. Think I’ll have to make one soon because my mouth wants that umami flavor just reading this! The photos in this book are beautiful also, they make you want to grab the dish off the page and eat it. The other thing I really like about this book is that each recipe has ingredients you don’t really have to go out of the way to find, and the ingredient list is not so long that it deters you. Most of the recipes appear to have 10-15 ingredients and the majority are staple ingredients. This book would also make a great gift for the cookbook lover or vegetarian in your life!

Not only is this book beautifully designed but the recipes are well thought out and sound delicious. Organizing the book into chapters focusing on a specific ingredient to produce umami flavours instead of by categories is really clever. Of course, there will be some overlap of ingredients but already knowing what will be the most prominent ingredient is rather helpful.

This book would be great for people who want to eat less meat, or who would like to add more interesting flavour profiles to their diet. Even if you are a full on omnivore this book would be a great addition to your kitchen.

With 75 mouthwatering recipes ranging from sweet to savoury, comforting to adventurous, Umami Bomb is a boon to any cook wanting to expand their repertoire of flavourful, full-bodied food. Regardless of whether you’re a meat-lover, vegan or somewhere in-between, there are plenty of brilliant recipes that will satisfy your hunger for something satisfying.

The book is cleverly structured - look up an umami-laden pantry staple such as hard cheese, tomato or miso, and be invited to explore a handful of different ways to use it to give your dinner a touch of je ne sais quoi. The accompanying photos are vivid and alive with colour, evoking the feeling of a true celebration of the culinary joys of umami. Flipping through, there’s a feeling of getting together with fellow foodie friends and sharing your recent cooking discoveries, discussing recipes and ingredients and brainstorming ways to change things up.

I’m excited to cook my way through this book and have already started applying some of the principles Raquel has introduced me to with great success. I feel well-equipped to take on new kitchen challenges, and excited to create more exciting and delicious meals in future!

A truly delicious triumph!

This advanced copy of Umami Bomb made my mouth water with easy recipes that anyone can make. When I get a cookbook, I read it like an actual book. This had a good flow in how it is broken up into sections explaining the flavor profile of the highlighted food and then the recipes that follow. Can't wait to get an actual hard copy to start cooking.

Umami is a deeply satisfying flavor and this book has it, and bonus with mostly vegetarian and vegan recipes. I know someone who is getting this book as a gift once it's released!!!

You may be hard-pressed to find a recipe book that does a better job of harnessing the fifth taste than Raquel Pelzel does in "Umami Bomb." Each chapter is helpfully structured around a specific item that's an umami goldmine (Parmesan, tomatoes, miso), and every one of those chapters provides a delightfully surprising variety of recipes - to name just one notable example, I never would of thought to use soy sauce as part of a cake recipe. Not only are the dishes diverse and tasty-looking, but they're all easily doable for anyone wiling to give them a try, and none ask for difficult-to-find ingredients that will break the bank. In short, this is everything you could ask for in a premised cookbook.