I heard wifey mentioned about the fifth taste previously and finally get to know about it from an article on magazine.
When we say the dish was simply delicious, how do we define 'delicious' in more specific way? The biggest contribution on our satisfaction is taste. Through the scientific experiment over the years, we manage to indentify the various tastes receptor on our tongues which are sour, sweet, bitter, salty, plus addition qualities such as spiciness or astringency.
The receptors for each basic taste transfer information to the brain through taste nerves. As a result, we recognize different flavours.
In the 19th century, a japanese professor of science came across a flavour now recognized as an additional basic taste, unami (旨味), produced mainly by the amino acid glutamate.
Generations of food connoisseurs have described the subtle savoury or meaty taste of unami as the foundation for what we perceive as delicious...
Written records show that fish sauce, which is rich in glutamate, was popular among the ancient Greeks and Romans as for back as 2,500 years ago. Soy sauce, another glutamate-rich seasoning, become popular in Japan arounf the 13th or 14th century...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami
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