MSG - Is it healthy? Is it good to use?

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wtfNeedSignUp

wtfNeedSignUp

kiwifarms.net
Joined
Dec 17, 2019
More curiosity than for cooking. Growing up MSG was considered unhealthy and cheap way to make stuff palpable. I heard youtubers try to dispel it, but it's impossible to trust them while every article about the subject just screams about racism.
 
MSG is a salt. If you consume too much MSG you'll feel the same as if you ate too much salt. There are select people with some kind of glutamate sensitivity, but it's REALLY not common and it's also one of those conditions that munchies like to tack on to themselves to be special-er. My own rule of thumb is to only replace up to half of the salt in a recipe with MSG. I've heard some people also try natural sources of MSG like parmesan cheese and button mushrooms, but imo I can't really taste it. Never had a problem with it unless I used too much somehow.
 
I find it makes certain dishes 'pop', but if you add it to your nuggies and fries its not really worth it
 
I think it's irresponsible to say it's salt or that it can replace salt in a recipe.

For me, it has a very distinct taste and flavor. I like it in some things, but in many things I taste it too much and it overpowers the dish.

Something that annoys me a lot is when people claim it's a flavor-neutral flavor enhancer. I saw a video from a British guy recently who claimed MSG could enhance anything from an egg to pasta and tomato sauce.

I actually tried it in pasta sauce and it was disgusting.
 
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It's good but if it randomly disappeared one day I wouldn't miss it very much. I just use a healthy sprinkle on any meats I cook alongside salt, pepper, etc. Definitely not a replacement for salt but it does have sodium so it impacts your daily intake if that's something you need to keep track of. Hard to describe the flavor, basically it just makes meats meatier, I've never noticed it trying it on veggies or anything
 
Chongqing said:
I think it's irresponsible to say it's salt or that it can replace salt in a recipe.

For me, it has a very distinct taste and flavor. I like it in some things, but in many things I taste it too much and it overpowers the dish.
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Oh no, it's a misunderstanding. I'm not saying it's a replacement for salt or can be used in place of it. I'm saying that I treat it like salt with my up-to-half rule to both prevent consuming too much sodium and to prevent it from overpowering my recipe.
 
It's just a easy and quick source of umami flavor

I personally don't use it, but i don't see issues with it
 
Its great and I use it when cooking many meals. I have a big container of the pure stuff for general use. Soy sauce also contains MSG so you could use that in place of it or anything that has hydrolyzed proteins are also essentially it as well.

I reccomend this for steak marinades and stews to get that real good umami flavor.
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it's not the revolution many claim it to be, but like any kind of spice, it's good within its niche and is well worth getting a handle on because it can do a lot to make a dish pop, just don't overdo it or it will dominate the flavor profile

i do think "umami" in the lexicon is cringe when sat next to sweet/sour/bitter/salty, it's insane to me that we opted for a japanese loanword when "savory" is right there
 
Started using a Chinese seasoning that's basically powdered soup stock with lots of MSG. It's excellent
 
Eh, it's pretty alright with ramen. I like the taste of it. But i think imo it's more for asian cuisine than for anything else. It is cheap and i think everyone should give it a try.
 
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