Ha! You may not find MSG by name but it's virtually everywhere "disguised" as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extract, beef extract, seaweed extract, sometimes just sodium glutamate and …wait for it… fish sauce. It's been used, unknowingly, for millennia (Roman "garum", Japanese sh?yu) and, isolated, for over a hundred years with zero scientific evidence linking it to any adverse effects despite numerous double-blind placebo-controlled studies over the last 40-plus years.
Glutamate = umami = one of our five basic tastes. We're programmed to detect and seek the flavor as an indicator of protein, just like salt is an indicator of essential minerals and sweet is an indicator of sugar (which equals energy). An amino acid, we are, literally, made from glutamate. Not only does the average person consume 10 or 20 grams from various sources every day, our bodies synthesize as much as 5 times more.
As for recipes containing the substance, we all use it, just that most of us do so unknowingly. Me, I have a jar of the stuff in the rack alongside my other herbs and spices. Beef + mirepoix > beef alone, right?
One thing most people key in on is MSG as an additive. It's not, well not any more than salt.
If you have a serious allergy to MSG you should also be aware that MSG is a natural substance...it's found in high amounts in Parmesan cheese, and sea weeds (such as you'd find in Miso Soup for the broth). Mushrooms and other 'natural' sources.
In fact the derived MSG crystals are made from Kombu Seaweed which is a vital element for making Dashi; the stock most known here in the US as the stock used for miso soups.
Some people think it's 'chemical' and yet drink Di-hydrogen Monoxide. http://www.dhmo.org/
Okay....I'll save you here...dihydrogen monoxide is another name for water. But look at the site---the internet doesn't lie.
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Ha! You may not find MSG by name but it's virtually everywhere "disguised" as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extract, beef extract, seaweed extract, sometimes just sodium glutamate and …wait for it… fish sauce. It's been used, unknowingly, for millennia (Roman "garum", Japanese sh?yu) and, isolated, for over a hundred years with zero scientific evidence linking it to any adverse effects despite numerous double-blind placebo-controlled studies over the last 40-plus years.
Glutamate = umami = one of our five basic tastes. We're programmed to detect and seek the flavor as an indicator of protein, just like salt is an indicator of essential minerals and sweet is an indicator of sugar (which equals energy). An amino acid, we are, literally, made from glutamate. Not only does the average person consume 10 or 20 grams from various sources every day, our bodies synthesize as much as 5 times more.
As for recipes containing the substance, we all use it, just that most of us do so unknowingly. Me, I have a jar of the stuff in the rack alongside my other herbs and spices. Beef + mirepoix > beef alone, right?
If you have a serious allergy to MSG you should also be aware that MSG is a natural substance...it's found in high amounts in Parmesan cheese, and sea weeds (such as you'd find in Miso Soup for the broth). Mushrooms and other 'natural' sources.
In fact the derived MSG crystals are made from Kombu Seaweed which is a vital element for making Dashi; the stock most known here in the US as the stock used for miso soups.
Some people think it's 'chemical' and yet drink Di-hydrogen Monoxide. http://www.dhmo.org/
Okay....I'll save you here...dihydrogen monoxide is another name for water. But look at the site---the internet doesn't lie.