FAQ’s

This is literally the question I get asked the most. Umami is the fifth taste, after salty, sour, bitter, and sweet. It was discovered later than the others by the Japanese, hence the interesting name. It is a pleasant savoury taste and translates as ‘deliciousness’. It’s associated with the flavours of meat, mushrooms, and parmesan cheese, amongst other things. As you can imagine, I think I’m pretty cool to have come up with this name for my business.

Our products are always gluten-, additive-, and preservative-free. We do not use yeast or anti-caking agents of any kind.

Currently, UMAMI products can be purchased at umamibermuda.com, along with the following stores: Miles Market, Brown and Co., The Duty-Free Shops at LF Wade Airport, ER Fisheries, Long Story Short, Lindos Devonshire, Island Outfitters, Sidekicks and Wadsons. The website is the only place that carries all of our products.

Nobody ever asks me this. But I wish they would. I would tell them to stop seasoning directly from their jar into a hot pan. It affects the quality of your spices and can cause them to clump. If you’ve ever seen me cook, you’ll know I do it when I’m lazy. But I also cook a lot and use up my spices quickly. So don’t be like me, and take good care of your spices. 

Our products contain a balanced amount of kosher salt. Everything Spice, our only all-purpose blend, is more salt-forward than the other blends. I recommend, when using any of the blends, to season, taste, and season throughout the cooking process until the flavor is to your liking. Salty is not what we’re going for.

Only three of our blends contain sugar: UMAMI Jerk, UMAMI-Q, and Tandori Twist.

While we do use some organic ingredients, our products are not fully organic.

Spices should be stored in a cool, dry, and preferably dark space. The rack over your stove ain’t it. Neither is the drawer next to the stove. In the warmer months you can store in the fridge if your kitchen is really hot, or if you don’t cook often. Full disclosure, I keep mine two drawers away from my stove (close enough to be handy but far enough away that they don’t get the heat from the stove).

As you probably know, spices don’t tend to ‘go bad’ per se. Instead, they will lose their flavour and health benefits and clump. UMAMI spice blends are at their best within the first six months of purchase. You can still use them after six months, but freshness is key with our focus on health benefits and flavour.

All of our blends (except the OCG and our infused salts) contain pepper. However, the only two that I consider spicy are the Tandori Twist and the UMAMI Jerk. Maybe The Hot Mexican too. I guess I should include it since it has hot in the name. 🤣

People literally ask me this. And my answer is always, you sure can! And not just because I’m a brilliant salesperson, but because it’s true. As much as I cook, I have yet to come across a dish that isn’t made better by using UMAMI blends.

Yes, just crumble them in your hand. They’ll be fine unless you’ve had them forever, of course.

This is a hard no. 🤭 But even if I wanted to, the best spices in the world do not grow in Bermuda. Neither do the best grapes. 😉

Throw them out! Better yet, don’t let them get old.

Because they are delicious! Duh. 🤷🏽‍♀️ JK.

Freshly ground spice blends make it easy to get the flavour and health benefits from a variety of spices that you probably wouldn’t ordinarily. Do you ever look at a recipe and see that it calls for 10 spice ingredients? Do you make the recipe? Of course not! Who has time for that? Me, that’s who. I carefully grind and mix the spices, so you don’t have to.

With abandon… Ok, I jest. Season with your hands. Why? You get a more even coating and waste less spices. Also, you don’t want to be holding your open jar of spices over the pan, just inviting the steam right in…

My goal is to change the way Bermuda eats. Can we all just agree that nobody needs two starches on their plate?! 😔

UMAMI Bermuda exists to improve overall awareness about the importance of using spices and the major health benefits and improved flavour associated with their freshness, while also making them readily available and easier to cook with.

At the heart of our philosophy lies a commitment to being customer-obsessed and honest. We believe in eating clean food, supporting sustainability, and enjoying life as often as possible. That’s what we do!

I believe that we should:

be customer obsessed.

be honest.

eat clean food.

support sustainability.

enjoy life as often as possible.

So that’s what we do!

Let me know if I’ve missed anything that should definitely be a FAQ!