It’s surprising how many people still believe this. Trying to convince them otherwise is like a chicken talking to a duck. Yet they happily eat a bag of Doritos chock full of MSG without any ill effect
Adorable! Funny thing is no one besides me- the family chef - will admit to using it. They constantly claim it would make them sick, etc. There have been a few documented cases of adverse reactions to what people thought was MSG. These could have occurred. There is always a 1 to 5% group of people that respond negatively to anything. Frankly, I think the issue is the same as if you grossly over salted something, combined with tolerance. There is a huge and growing body of receptor science related to all the aspects of organoleptic responses. It makes sense that if someone has never really been exposed to something their receptors would be highly primed. A really severe adverse reaction would not be expected, however, similar to how the immune system will create mast cells and basophils to any pathogen or potential allergen perceived as a pathogen on the second or re-challenge, not the first however. But if the MSG is adulterated with other substances - often done - or extenuated with another chemical or inactive substance, I think people have been responding to that. Your advice about small amounts is solid. If someone has never been using it, their receptors and their body overall physiologically may just need to adjust. Adding a tablespoon of MSG, similar to adding a TB of salt, to a serving of ramen, for example, will typically never turn out well. There are extensive case studies, in Japan, for example, on how people become desensitized to MSG to the point that that is, actually, how much they need to get the same level of whatever dopamine or other factors are making their food organoleptics acceptable. Similar to how someone that has grow ups eating typical Indian food will say things like less than 2% sodium in a dish makes it tasteless. At this point if I don't use it in everything and on everything, I get the look like what happened to this food look. It's also the reason why I also get the nobody cooks like you. Sure, I can do without it, but it's like French or Italian traditions as well. No one wants to read that there is sugar in anything. It's clearly stated no sugar added on many labels. But any chef - including grandma - will always add a pinch of sugar to balance the saltsweetbittersourumami of a dish. Eaters just don't know it. As far as overuse of MSG and bad reactions go, one must remember that industry will often add chemicals (they will usually state inositol or something similar that does not trigger a negative consumer response from the clean label crowd) to mask the inferiority of the products they are using. If the food you are eating is fresh or of good quality, a pinch of MSG is not at all needed, but will be greatly enhanced by it, similar to how a pinch of salt can really set chocolate off. I'm not advocating lying to customers. Just reminding them who is doing the cooking, and who is doing the eating, is an effective way of toning it down.
Thank you providing a thoroughly well-researched article about the flavor of umami, as replicated in the product known as MSG. Thank you also for providing the historical origin of the misinformation about MSG. Because it is a sodium product, a little does go a long way, just like salt. Thank goodness that the lexicon of this flavor (umami) is now being used routinely in the western world. Thank you for bringing this particular product to the US. Well done!
It’s surprising how many people still believe this. Trying to convince them otherwise is like a chicken talking to a duck. Yet they happily eat a bag of Doritos chock full of MSG without any ill effect
Love this!
Adorable! Funny thing is no one besides me- the family chef - will admit to using it. They constantly claim it would make them sick, etc. There have been a few documented cases of adverse reactions to what people thought was MSG. These could have occurred. There is always a 1 to 5% group of people that respond negatively to anything. Frankly, I think the issue is the same as if you grossly over salted something, combined with tolerance. There is a huge and growing body of receptor science related to all the aspects of organoleptic responses. It makes sense that if someone has never really been exposed to something their receptors would be highly primed. A really severe adverse reaction would not be expected, however, similar to how the immune system will create mast cells and basophils to any pathogen or potential allergen perceived as a pathogen on the second or re-challenge, not the first however. But if the MSG is adulterated with other substances - often done - or extenuated with another chemical or inactive substance, I think people have been responding to that. Your advice about small amounts is solid. If someone has never been using it, their receptors and their body overall physiologically may just need to adjust. Adding a tablespoon of MSG, similar to adding a TB of salt, to a serving of ramen, for example, will typically never turn out well. There are extensive case studies, in Japan, for example, on how people become desensitized to MSG to the point that that is, actually, how much they need to get the same level of whatever dopamine or other factors are making their food organoleptics acceptable. Similar to how someone that has grow ups eating typical Indian food will say things like less than 2% sodium in a dish makes it tasteless. At this point if I don't use it in everything and on everything, I get the look like what happened to this food look. It's also the reason why I also get the nobody cooks like you. Sure, I can do without it, but it's like French or Italian traditions as well. No one wants to read that there is sugar in anything. It's clearly stated no sugar added on many labels. But any chef - including grandma - will always add a pinch of sugar to balance the saltsweetbittersourumami of a dish. Eaters just don't know it. As far as overuse of MSG and bad reactions go, one must remember that industry will often add chemicals (they will usually state inositol or something similar that does not trigger a negative consumer response from the clean label crowd) to mask the inferiority of the products they are using. If the food you are eating is fresh or of good quality, a pinch of MSG is not at all needed, but will be greatly enhanced by it, similar to how a pinch of salt can really set chocolate off. I'm not advocating lying to customers. Just reminding them who is doing the cooking, and who is doing the eating, is an effective way of toning it down.
Thank you providing a thoroughly well-researched article about the flavor of umami, as replicated in the product known as MSG. Thank you also for providing the historical origin of the misinformation about MSG. Because it is a sodium product, a little does go a long way, just like salt. Thank goodness that the lexicon of this flavor (umami) is now being used routinely in the western world. Thank you for bringing this particular product to the US. Well done!