Soaking salted anchovies & umami Does soaking salted anchovies in water to reduce the saltiness, also reduce their umami component?
Yes, it does, as both salt and glutamate (which provides the umami flavor) are water-soluble.

However, salt has a solubility in water of 359 g/L whereas monosodium glutamate's is 740 g/L so the resulting anchovies will have drained about twice as much taste than salt for any given amount of soaking.