As I read the New York Times, monosodium glutamate or MSG gives us the taste, umami, that "elusive fifth taste" that rounds out the flavor of everything.
Yes, MSG, the Secret Behind the Savor
But you don't have to search out Japanese seaweed because MSG is a shortcut to that rounder flavor. You won't necessarily under that name on the label, so look for hydrolyzed soy protein or autolyzed yeast, because it's all glutamate and perfectly safe to eat for the vast majority of people.
You can find glutamate in Accent, canned chicken broth, hoisin, soy and fish sauces, Maggi, onion soup, Goldfish crackers, canned tuna with vegetable broth, canned soup, low-fat yoghurts and ice creams, virtually everything ranch-flavored or cheese-flavored, Pringles and bologna among others.
Nacho-cheese-flavor Doritos, which contain five separate forms of glutamate, may be even richer in umami than the finest kombu dashi (kelp stock) in Japan.
Posted by Jill Fallon at March 7, 2008 3:22 PM | PermalinkI'm one of the people who can't eat it because of migraines. The problem is not finding foods with glutamate... it's finding foods without it! It makes restaurants an adventure and generally headache inducing experience the next day. Luckily, if I'm good for the the week prior to going out to eat, I can generally have a meal without too much of a problem - ibuprofen must be available.
But it would be nearly impossible for me to take a job where I had to travel extensively because I'd end up back where I was about 10 years ago - 3-5 nasty migraines a week with a constant background headache that is never gone.
Gotta say, "extra flavor" does not compensate for something like that.
Posted by: Teresa at March 7, 2008 3:53 PM