How to Make Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes

Instead of using breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs, I use an egg as a binder for the meatloaf in this recipe, along with grated Parmesan cheese and finely chopped mushrooms. (Don’t worry, you won’t taste the mushrooms, but they make the meatloaf very moist!) Mushrooms and aged cheeses have something called umami, a pleasant savory taste produced by glutamate and ribonucleotides, which are chemicals that occur naturally in many foods. Umami is subtle and not generally identifiable, but it blends well with other tastes to intensify and enhance flavors. Umami plays an important role in making food taste delicious.