Originally Posted by
usagishouse
Yes, fresh items have what we call umami.
It's just a much more flavorful experience. So for example, raw eggs in Japan have umami, but American eggs do not (maybe some organic, small farms have). It's because the way they are raised. Or at least that is what I think.
Umami, like sweet and salty, is more than just a feeling - you can determine a food's umami level by measuring the amount of glutamates it contains. So egg yolks are rich in umami, whether the eggs are laid in Japan or America, because of the glutamates they contain. Japanese food tends to have a lot of umami because of the use of soy sauce and other seasonings, not because the farms are smaller.