Q&A

omami is – we sincerely hope – your exciting new go-to ingredient-of-choice for any and all occasions.

It’s made in pretty much the same way tofu has been traditionally made for centuries. It’s packed with protein too, just like tofu. However, instead of soy, we’ve opted to use scrumptious chickpeas. omami also looks like tofu, only a bit prettier, thanks to its pale-yellow chickpea hue. And while we’re on the subject, we also prefer the consistency of omami to that of classic tofu. Not to mention, when its fried, omami gets amazingly crispy on the outside while staying meltingly soft on the inside.

omami has yet another advantage over “old-school” tofu: it actually tastes good fresh out of the package. Why? Well, partly because chickpeas have a subtly seductive flavor of their own, but also because every omami comes prepared in a mouthwatering marinade.

omami is manufactured just like tofu and has everything going for it that tofu has. But it tastes better, looks nicer, gets crispier when fried and is made from chickpeas instead of soy. Does that make omami an “evolution” of tofu or something completely new and unique? The jury’s still out on that, but there’s one thing everyone agrees on: omami is an indispensable addition to your grocery list.

omami is made just like tofu, in the traditional way, except we use chickpeas instead of soybeans. These are soaked and ground into a thin paste. Then the paste is cooked, the resulting foam skimmed off and the remaining solid mass put through a strainer. The result is a chickpea milk to which calcium sulphate and magnesium chloride are added to aid coagulation – the clumping together of proteins and fats suspended in the liquid. This is what produces omami’s oh-so-appealing medium-firm consistency. The resulting chickpea curd is stirred and then pressed using a hydraulic press, to squeeze out the remaining liquid and give omami its final form and texture.

Now all that’s missing is the marinade and omami is ready for the shelves.

There many theories about soy floating around out there that we don’t necessarily subscribe to. What IS clear however, is that some people have an allergic reaction to soy and some other nasty people chop down valuable rainforests to produce it. We find both appalling. That’s why – as well as the fact they’re ridiculously delicious, of course – we’ve opted to use chickpeas in omami. Tastes amazing, free from allergens AND chickpea crops boost both biodiversity and very soil in which they’re grown. Seriously, what’s not to love?

Everyone who eats. Easy-chickpeasy. That said, you should avoid flaunting it in front of omnivorous Venus flytraps, peckish pets and flexitarian extraterrestrials.

Believe it or not, omami contains just three ingredients: chickpeas, water and a natural thickening agent. We never, ever, use any artificial flavors or colorings in our tofu or marinades. Period.

omami is the only tofu that boasts an umami flavor profile. Yup, you guessed it: that’s how we got our name. Umami is one of the five basic tastes (alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter) and translates from Japanese as “tasty”. In omami’s case, the umami comes from the chickpeas and gets a little added push from our five impeccably harmonizing marinades.

omami is pleasantly firm, dense and chewy, making it wonderfully versatile. It also melts exquisitely on the tongue. When fried, it gets soooo nice and crispy on the outside and still stays silky-smooth inside. Our marinades our equally silky-smooth on the tongue. Pretty much the only thing you can say about this (if you ever stop eating) is: “OMAMI-MIA!!!”

You’ll find omami in the tofu section of your supermarket, but really it should be on a special “Crazy-Amount-of-Options” shelf. You can eat it plain, roast it, fry it, grill it, steam it… It also goes swimmingly with vegetables, fish or meat – the whole darn enchilada, in other words. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or your midnight snack. If you need even more inspiration, take a look at our recipe page.

Our five delicious marinades contain solely natural ingredients. These are listed in detail on our product pages.

Yes, they are! We marinate omami to save you time and effort. And because marinades tastes best when they’re fermented, we ferment ours in the old-fashioned way. We reeeeally take our time, as you can surely taste.

Yup. We keep gluten out of the picture since it causes so many people trouble. There’s a teensy-tiny bit of wheat in the Black Pepper marinade, but it’s so miniscule, we can officially label it gluten-free.

Nope. We use chickpeas instead of soy, so that now even people with soy allergies can revel in the many pleasures of tofu.

16g per 100 g (roughly 0.56 oz per 3.53 oz).

Not officially, no. First and foremost, we ensure our chickpeas are of the very best quality and come from Europe, to avoid unnecessary transport. During our extensive testing and development phase, we discovered that very specific, high-quality chickpea varieties must be used to give omami its incomparable taste and consistency. These aren’t necessarily certified organic, however, we’re still in the early phases of contract farming and partnerships. One thing is certain: all our ingredients are hand-picked, grown without genetic engineering and of top-class quality. One other thing is certain: our chickpeas boost soil health and biodiversity wherever they’re grown. Hooray!

You can buy omami at selected supermarkets in Germany, Austria and Switzlerland. In Germany, you’ll find us at REWE, EDEKA Rhein-Ruhr, EDEKA Stroetmann, tegut and Hit Ullrich; in Austria at BILLA and Gurkerl; and in Switzerland at COOP. If you can’t find omami on the shelves at your local supermarket in these countries, ask your store manager – after all, a supermarket shelf without omami is only half a shelf!

If you live elsewhere in Europe, we’re working hard to get omami to you. If you’re a distributor, we’d love to talk. Write us at: post@omami.eu

Unfortunately, we don’t have an online shop yet, however in Germany, Austria and Switzlerland you can order omami to your home via our partners’ online shops: REWE online, Knuspr Lieferdienst und Velivery in Germany, the Coop online supermarket in Switzerland and Billa’s online shop in Austria.

We are definitely planning on that, but not for now. Maybe you combine getting omami with a nice holiday in the Austrian Alps?

Because we think it looks great and makes omami wonderfully recognizable. What are your thoughts on the matter…?

Chickpeas are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the world. They’ve been a staple food in India and the Middle East since ancient times and are celebrated widely for their versatility and high-nutrient content (they’re chock-full of protein and iron). Thanks to Middle Eastern classics such as hummus and falafel, chickpeas have been enjoying popularity pretty much everywhere for decades.

The chickpea plant belongs to the papilionaceous family and is cultivated in southern Europe, India, North Africa, the Middle East and the Near East. It probably originated in Turkey, where it was already being cultivated 10,000 years ago.

Incidentally, chickpeas are not called chickpeas because of anything to do with poultry. The ancient Romans called the plant Cicer and that evolved into chickpea. Although, it’s also not a pea, botanically speaking – it’s been dubbed that because of its round shape. Apart from these minor naming oddities, chickpeas are the real deal, however, and, with the rise of vegetarian and vegan diets, continue to take the Western world by storm.