Season 4 of the hit FX show “The Bear” dropped on June 25, with all 10 episodes hitting Hulu at once (yay for being able to binge it all!). Alongside all the visuals of haute cuisine come some homey, down-to-earth moments — like when Sydney Adamu, played by Ayo Edebiri, cooks up some good old-fashioned Hamburger Helper on the stove (in a house, not at the restaurant) in Episode 4. Of course, being the experienced chef that she is, she elevates it by adding tomato paste to the beef and toasted breadcrumbs, presumably to top it.
Tomatoes are full of rich, umami notes (they’re a source of naturally occurring MSG), and since tomato paste is a concentrate of the red fruits, it’s practically bursting with deep, savory flavor, which it can impart — subtly — into many different recipes. Of course, whenever you use tomato paste, you should brown it using the Maillard reaction or caramelize it — which Sydney does, after squeezing some from a tube into her pan of cooking ground beef.
Viewers also get a shot of the beautifully toasted breadcrumbs being transferred from a hot pan to paper towels. While they don’t feature again — except perhaps as a vague crunching sound while Sydney eats — she likely added them for a contrasting texture, ensuring that her Hamburger Helper tasted as close to gourmet as possible.
Make your Hamburger Helper taste gourmet with umami
Umami is really the flavor profile that will take your boxed Hamburger Helper from flat to fine dining, since it creates a depth and complexity in foods like no other. If, unlike Sydney Adamu in “The Bear” Season 4, Episode 4, you don’t have tomato paste on hand, chances are good you have ketchup hanging out in your fridge — and because it’s also made from tomatoes, it’s likewise chock full of umami flavor (just like with sloppy joe sandwich recipes, most homemade Hamburger Helper recipes actually call for it). Ketchup also includes a kiss of sweetness, which can make your one-pot meal even more complex-tasting.
You can further add umami in vegetable form by slicing up and sauteing mushrooms to throw into the pan. They’ll not only boost the meaty taste and texture, but they’ll beef up the meal with some nutrients as well, including fiber, potassium, and vitamin D.
Finally, in this episode of “The Bear,” Sydney has her relative grate up some white cheese that she sprinkles into the dish. She doesn’t specify what type it is (it looks like a white cheddar or mozzarella), but we recommend grating in one of the most classic Italian cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano. It contains a significant amount of glutamate — the chemical from which umami derives.
