SteveW wrote:I was in a large chinese supermarket yesterday stocking up on Soy sauce,fish sauce and sesame oil when I came across various sized packets of MSG. I suggested to Tara we could by some and try it in stir fries or even sausages. She gave me a look and said no chance, I agreed and left it at that but I've been thinking today.......why do so many people think it's a bad thing? If it makes food taste better and has no detriment on health if used in small amounts then surely it's a good thing? Does anyone here use it?
The human tongue has receptors for L-glutamate, which is the source of umami flavor.
As such, scientists consider umami to be distinct from saltiness.
Foods rich in umami
Many foods that may be consumed daily are rich in umami.
Naturally occurring glutamate can be found in meats and vegetables, whereas inosinate comes primarily from meats and guanylate from vegetables.
Thus, umami taste is common to foods that contain high levels of L-glutamate, IMP and GMP, most notably in fish, shellfish, cured meats, vegetables (e.g., mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, spinach, celery, etc.) or green tea, and fermented and aged products (e.g., cheeses, shrimp pastes, soy sauce, etc.).
Humans' first encounter with umami is breast milk.
It contains roughly the same amount of umami as broths.
wheels wrote:It seems to get a 'love it or hate it' reaction like Marmite.
Given that Marmite has one of the highest natural concentrations of msg of any food-stuff it's not surprising!
gsevelle wrote:
Being that I am part English (my mother came over on the QM just after the war) and I also have a very good friend who is from Australia I know what Marmite is, have tasted it, and will not have it in the house. At best I can say it is an aquired taste. For the sake of all the other Yanks on this forum you might want to discribe what exactly this paste is.
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