What are the basic tastes? Which is the most recently discovered?

The basic tastes are traditionally categorized into five distinct flavors that our taste buds can identify. These are:

1. Sweet: Often associated with energy-rich foods, sweetness is usually caused by the presence of sugars.
2. Sour: This taste is typically the result of acids in foods, like citric acid in fruits or lactic acid in fermented products.
3. Salty: Saltiness is primarily due to the presence of sodium ions in foods. It's essential for maintaining the body's electrolyte balance.
4. Bitter: Bitterness often serves as a natural warning signal for the potential toxicity of a substance. Many bitter compounds are found in plants.
5. Umami: This savory taste is attributed to the presence of glutamates and nucleotides. It is often associated with meats and broths.

The most recently discovered basic taste is umami. It was identified in the early 20th century by a Japanese scientist named Kikunae Ikeda, who isolated monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the substance that conferred this savory flavor. However, it took much longer for umami to be widely recognized as a distinct taste in the Western world, with acceptance growing in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.