In Praise of Glutamates

[Zuul]

First, some background:

Though monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been vilified, the fact is that they don't actually cause problems in most people. Only a handful, statistically, have ever been found to have a sensitivity to it. Unfortunately, the bad press beats out the good and now many people don't know that glutamates are one of the most glorious flavor enhancers in the world. Pure, unadulterated umami, in fact.

Now, free glutamates are metabolized differently than protein glutamates, but both bring what can only be described as "yumminess" to a meal. It's often naturally present in aged or fermented foods, like soy sauce or cheese, but it also occurs in tomatoes, grape juice, meat, and more. Yeast based products (such as nutritional yeast or Marmite) or extremely high in glutamates.

Like caramelized onions or mushrooms? Those are free glutamates you're tasting there. The slow cooking helps release the free glutamates from other amino acids in vegetables and will increase their savoriness, bringing a richer, more "meaty" flavor to vegetarian meals. Corn, peas, and asparagus are also good contenders for bringing out the umami.

So, who else loves to cook with glutamates?

[WhyNot]

Me, me! I even put it in a kitchen tip in another thread: don't be afraid of MSG! While my favorite forms are the ones you mention like browning mushrooms or meat, there's hardly anything, savory or sweet, that a little sprinkle of MSG won't fix. I tend not to think if it as an ingredient; it's not in 99% of my recipes, but when I taste something and it's at that "not quite right" stage, a little dash of MSG will often be the thing to push 'er over the edge into yumminess.

One of my favorite "Secret recipes" involving glutamate is simple frozen corn, heated as a side dish. A sprinkle of MSG with the salt and pepper just makes the corn sublime, and even lets me cut the required butter in half, reducing the fat in the dish.

[jali]

Me too! I confessed my use of MSG in the same thread.

I've never tried it on anything sweet, but it's amazing in any savory dish.

[Hatshepsut]

Oh, absolutely. Here in Indonesia you can purchase great big containers of MSG. I don't buy it (maybe I should!) but I do use chicken bouillon cubes to flavor food when I want my son to like it, and I know that's really just adding MSG and salt. We call it his "special spice."

So I'm certainly not afraid of MSG. However, I do wonder about one thing: once on a trip to Namibia, I visited a grocery store and was amused to see that MSG from Indonesia had been put in the tea section. An easy mistake to make, as the words were only in Indonesian (it's called "vetsin" here) and the canister it comes in does look uncannily like a tea tin.

But what if someone said "oh, a new kind of tea!" and bought the MSG, stirred a spoonful of it into a cup of hot water, and tried to drink it? Would they, oh I dunno, keel over or something?

[Zuul]

But what if someone said "oh, a new kind of tea!" and bought the MSG, stirred a spoonful of it into a cup of hot water, and tried to drink it? Would they, oh I dunno, keel over or something?

Probably not, though they might be a bit disgusted. What they'd essentially have is a hot cup of salt and amino acids. Someone with a sensitivity to it might suffer some consequences, but I believe the most common symptoms from that are headache and general uckiness, nothing actually dangerous.

And I'm so happy to know I'm not the only one who willingly admits a love of glutamates! You're absolutely right about MSG often being that "little something more" a dish needs, WhyNot.

I've never tried it in anything sweet either, jali, but now I'm tempted to. When I've tasted it all by itself, I have noticed a vaguely sweet flavor to it, along with the salt and savory. For sweet dishes that are enhanced with a bit of salt, I'm wondering just how much MSG might enhance it. Hmmm.

[Lady Xoc]

My niece just asked if I'd teach her how to make my carne asada tacos.

Boy is she gonna be surprised tomorrow when she finds out what my secret ingredient is.

[sublight]

Sweet, for that last year and a half I've been writing regular magazine 'advertorials' about the history and science behind umami and where it can be found in everyday dishes.

Glad to see I've actually been having an effect!