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Do you use MSG?

post #1 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:07pm
Thread Starter 
I was wondering who among you use MSG in your cooking?
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post #2 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:25pm
I'd be surprised if people still use msg for non-commercial cooking
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post #3 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acidboy View Post
I'd be surprised if people still use msg for non-commercial cooking
Oddly enough, I think I might have had an MSG reaction last night. It was French/Cal food, not Chinese, so I am kind of skeptical about it being MSG, but I've had them before, and the symptoms were identical. Sfield, are high end places using this shit now?
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post #4 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:42pm
I've gotta be honest, I didn't know that anyone outside of food "manufacturers" and crappy restaurants (well, and probably some not-so-crappy places too, unfortunately) used actual MSG powder. It was only fairly recently that I even noticed that jarred MSG was available at the supermarket, right with all the other dried herbs and spices. Kind of shocked me that it was available and sold that way.
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post #5 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:45pm
My mom has always cooked with MSG. I thought it was pretty traditional to Chinese cooking.
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post #6 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:46pm
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Originally Posted by spertia View Post
I've gotta be honest, I didn't know that anyone outside of food "manufacturers" and crappy restaurants (well, and probably some not-so-crappy places too, unfortunately) used actual MSG powder. It was only fairly recently that I even noticed that jarred MSG was available at the supermarket, right with all the other dried herbs and spices. Kind of shocked me that it was available and sold that way.
It's funny. When I was a young kid my father owned a spice company, so we had at least one of every spice around. MSG was definitely part of the set, and this was the late 70s early 80s. Nobody used it at our house, though. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of it being used in molecular cuisine places, now that I think about it.
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post #7 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
Oddly enough, I think I might have had an MSG reaction last night. It was French/Cal food, not Chinese, so I am kind of skeptical about it being MSG, but I've had them before, and the symptoms were identical. Sfield, are high end places using this shit now?
Definitely. From talking to chefs, many view using MSG as merely a perception problem, and worth the rare bad reaction so long as it's hidden. It seems to be trending into grater visibility since the cancer concerns have largely been debunked and "umami" is a catchall.
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post #8 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:51pm
there is only one easy way to UMAMI and thats MSG.

I've been tricked into eating things with MSG and realized there is a weirdly awesome synergy of tastes that happens when its put into certain things - like hamburgers.

I realize that most of the major health threats involved with MSG consumption has been debunked, but I do get headaches after eating MSG ladened meals.
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post #9 of 59
2/23/11 at 1:53pm
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Originally Posted by LawrenceMD View Post
there is only one easy way to UMAMI and thats MSG.

I've been tricked into eating things with MSG and realized there is a weirdly awesome synergy of tastes that happens when its put into certain things - like hamburgers.

I realize that most of the major health threats involved with MSG consumption has been debunked, but I do get headaches after eating MSG ladened meals.
The only reaction I really get is a swollen tongue, and lot of thirsty. See poast 6. I've experimented a bit here.
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post #10 of 59
2/23/11 at 2:12pm
could any of these reactoins(thirsty e.g.) be a simple Salt reaction from the sodium in MSG? my mother adds MSG to vegetables but i am not sure if she adds it to anything else.
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post #11 of 59
2/23/11 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iampeter View Post
could any of these reactoins(thirsty e.g.) be a simple Salt reaction from the sodium in MSG? my mother adds MSG to vegetables but i am not sure if she adds it to anything else.

yup, headache, and swelling sure excess salt can cause that.
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post #12 of 59
2/23/11 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
It's common in many asian places.. pho doesn't taste the same without MSG, and yes I know of a few chefs who use it on purpose and proudly. There's a sort of stoner food/kitsch aspect that appeals to younger cheeky chefs that enjoy asian hole in the wall/street food. You'd never see this in strictly western cuisine.

I was just wondering what home cooks use it. I have friends with very fine palates who swear that it elevates dishes, so I won't argue with them. These are asian guys so there's a tasting memory that goes along with it.
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post #13 of 59
2/23/11 at 6:18pm
is msg the same thing as, or similar to "accents?" i was going through my gf's grandmothers recipes and this term kept appearing. i imagined she just meant herbs/aromatics, but her mother thought it described something similar to msg.
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post #14 of 59
2/23/11 at 6:20pm
I've been to Madison Square Garden a bunch of times.
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post #15 of 59
2/23/11 at 6:38pm
I love MSG. Mom cooks with knorr a lot.
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