Disodium Inosinate
What it does
Flavour enhancer.
How it's made
Made from meat/fish or fermentation.
Disodium inosinate is a nucleotide flavour enhancer, very similar to disodium guanylate, used to intensify savoury umami taste and particularly effective when paired with glutamate. It occurs naturally in meat and fish, which is part of why these foods taste so savoury.
It is made by fermentation and enzyme processing: microbes are used to produce nucleic acids or the inosinate building block, and enzymes then release inosine monophosphate, which is neutralised with sodium to give disodium inosinate. It can also be produced from fish or meat sources historically, but microbial fermentation is the modern route.
The purified salt is crystallised into a white powder and is almost always used together with glutamate and often with guanylate, since the combination produces a much stronger savoury effect than any of them alone. It is used in small amounts in stocks, snacks, sauces and instant meals.
Possible reactions
Purine content — caution with gout; not always vegetarian.