Savory

[Glizdka]

How well is the word savory known to regular native speakers? Is it a common word everyone would understand? Is it a word that only some know, if they're into this kind of stuff, but most people wouldn't know what it means?

When I talk about "The Fifth Basic Taste" to Polish people, they react kind of like they would react to hearing about the sixth sense, or a four-leaf clover, or a pentaquark. I believe it's mostly because the Polish language doesn't have a name for the sensation produced by the taste buds that detect proteins on your tongue, and the general public is familiar only with four basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter.

Some languages, however, do have a name for this taste. Most notably, Japanese calls it umami. I've heard it's called savory in English, but I'm not sure whether people generally understand it, or are aware that humans have five, not four, basic tastes in the first place.

 

[GoesStation]

Food lovers know savory as the large category of foods that aren't sweet. The fifth basic taste is umami. Despite its having been frequently discussed in the press for at least thirty years, this word is still unknown to large numbers of educated Americans.

 

[GoesStation]

Here's an example of midwestern American use of the word (from the small town of Aurora, Nebraska):

 

[Glizdka]

So, the word savory may or may not mean what I think it means, and it most often doesn't mean it, but it's well-known to everyone, though only the meaning I don't mean is known.

Got it.

 

[GoesStation]

So, the word savory may or may not mean what I think it means, and it most often doesn't mean it, but it's well-known to everyone ….

I wouldn't say that. It's pretty widely known, but I suspect many people would have no idea what it means.

 

[Glizdka]

So is it a bit like a buzzword? Everyone knows it, but no one really knows what it actually means.

 

[GoesStation]

So is it a bit like a buzzword? Everyone knows it, but no one really knows what it actually means.

No. It's a familiar word to many people. Others don't know it.

 

[jutfrank]

So, the word savory may or may not mean what I think it means, and it most often doesn't mean it, but it's well-known to everyone, though only the meaning I don't mean is known.

I'd say it's very unlikely to mean what you thought it meant because it hardly ever does mean what you thought it meant, but it is well-known to everyone though the meaning you meant but don't mean now is not really ever meant, unless by those who think their listeners won't understand what 'umami' means, which is quite a lot.

 

[emsr2d2]

The majority of people (who don't work in the food industry) will simply think of savoury as being the opposite of sweet. They're the terms most often used to describe foods. If something's not sweet, it's savoury.

People in the food or retail industry will probably be familiar with umami. The word/concept has become much more common in the last few years.

 

[Glizdka]

This means it doesn't mean what I meant.

Thank you!

 

[Rover_KE]

A lesser-known meaning of savory is as the culinary herb genus.

It is spelt without a u, even in BE, and is often pronounced with a short a to distinguish it from the more common meaning.