I actually discovered an msg sensitivity last year and I'm so pissed off! If it's used like salt I don't have any problems, but if it's chucked in by the handful to disguise a lack of flavour I get itching and hives within about an hour. I've learned to guzzle at least 2l of water to flush it out, and I'm always fine by morning, but as someone who's spent her life telling people about the great msg racism lie it really irks me that I'm actually sensitive to the stuff. Stupid ironic universe. 🙈
I'm so sorry to hear that! But I think you're right - it's a question of usage. If it's to cover poor cooking, it's used in too great a quantity, usually by the kind of cheapo take-out hole-in-the-wall that is operating a very fine profit margin. It should be applied no more lavishly than as a condiment.
Also, m&s in the UK are selling CREAM STUFFED hot cross buns and WHY???? How on earth are you supposed to toast that? (FYI international readers but Brits don't really have toaster ovens as a rule.)
I have been down the MSG rabbit hole some time ago. It is a fascinating story! I have a bottle of Maggi waiting for the moment to shine… as it did in red wine mushroom sauce last month.
Paris in a snowstorm sounds like a Hallmark movie! Cognac makes the depth of difference to finish the broth. I like to make buttered toasted croutons for the top rather than a single raft of toast under the cheese. It’s easier to maneuver! Good to know about red onions. Can’t imagine a good French cook wasting onions because they weren’t the preferred color!
I absolutely love buttered croutons! I fry mine in an oil and butter mix. But the problem is, I then don't wait for soup to eat them as though they were peanuts. I also learned, to my waistline's detriment, that scattering salt over raises them to another level. Now that I think of it, perhaps I'll try that with MSG...
Absolutely fascinating! So much in it that I never knew, thank you so much! And I do so agree with you about seasonal specialities - mince pies in September and Hot Cross buns in January just don't have the same appeal or impact. I may be tempted to try Marmite on an HCB, though ...
I was absolutely ready to sneer at Marmite Hot Cross Buns. But now I can't buy them, I create my own. With great relish. Seasonality is about the build up of the anticipation of knowing that come June, a strawberry warmed by the sun is going to burst on your tongue with a taste like a splash of Chanel No.5 which it won't deliver at Christmas. I want to want my Hot Cross Buns all the length of the rest of the year so I can look forward to them with excitement at Easter. Instant gratification is the ruin of excitement and longing. Thank you for your response!
Those strawberries need to be eaten in June, fresh-picked and still warm; the greenhouse-grown or flown in from warmer climes ones quite simply don't taste the same. Instant gratification turns us into spoilt children!
I entirely agree. Not only are we spoilt children but our tastebuds are spoiled for the lack of true flavour in what we eat out of season at its very best.
Hahaha! But it's reassuring to know that if we absolutely have to depend on insects in the future, they are actually perfectly nice once you get over the idea of them.
I don't like hot cross buns that much and loathe Marmite, but J tried those and said they were vile! But didn't Honest Unami launch some time ago, I recognise the brand?
You're absolutely right - in March last year. But they're apparently doing a push to overcome consumer resistance to MSG and get more outlets to stock it, particularly as an aid to salt reduction.
He also makes this important point for those concerned about their salt intake: "Yes, the glutamates in MSG are chemically the same as the natural glutamates in Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. The powder is made by processing a seaweed-based glutamate with sodium to create a salt. Marmite has salt added to the yeast extract. Anyone who has to restrict sodium needs to know that they both actually contain salt, even if MSG won't harm the rest of us. And, as the character Exotic Deadly points out, it makes food delicious."
I actually discovered an msg sensitivity last year and I'm so pissed off! If it's used like salt I don't have any problems, but if it's chucked in by the handful to disguise a lack of flavour I get itching and hives within about an hour. I've learned to guzzle at least 2l of water to flush it out, and I'm always fine by morning, but as someone who's spent her life telling people about the great msg racism lie it really irks me that I'm actually sensitive to the stuff. Stupid ironic universe. 🙈
I'm so sorry to hear that! But I think you're right - it's a question of usage. If it's to cover poor cooking, it's used in too great a quantity, usually by the kind of cheapo take-out hole-in-the-wall that is operating a very fine profit margin. It should be applied no more lavishly than as a condiment.
Also, m&s in the UK are selling CREAM STUFFED hot cross buns and WHY???? How on earth are you supposed to toast that? (FYI international readers but Brits don't really have toaster ovens as a rule.)
Oh yuck.
Fascinating. I knew none of this.
The world of food is stuffed with weird and wonderful and sometimes appalling facts. Like most worlds, come to think of it.
The world of food is stuffed with weird and wonderful and sometimes appealing facts. Like most worlds, come to think of it.
I discovered the joyous taste of a light scraping of Vegemite on buttered fruit toast or HCB
Ha! Another fan!! Joyous is a great description. Though I have to confess, I've never eaten Vegemite. Only because I've never found or looked for any.
I have been down the MSG rabbit hole some time ago. It is a fascinating story! I have a bottle of Maggi waiting for the moment to shine… as it did in red wine mushroom sauce last month.
Paris in a snowstorm sounds like a Hallmark movie! Cognac makes the depth of difference to finish the broth. I like to make buttered toasted croutons for the top rather than a single raft of toast under the cheese. It’s easier to maneuver! Good to know about red onions. Can’t imagine a good French cook wasting onions because they weren’t the preferred color!
I absolutely love buttered croutons! I fry mine in an oil and butter mix. But the problem is, I then don't wait for soup to eat them as though they were peanuts. I also learned, to my waistline's detriment, that scattering salt over raises them to another level. Now that I think of it, perhaps I'll try that with MSG...
Absolutely fascinating! So much in it that I never knew, thank you so much! And I do so agree with you about seasonal specialities - mince pies in September and Hot Cross buns in January just don't have the same appeal or impact. I may be tempted to try Marmite on an HCB, though ...
I was absolutely ready to sneer at Marmite Hot Cross Buns. But now I can't buy them, I create my own. With great relish. Seasonality is about the build up of the anticipation of knowing that come June, a strawberry warmed by the sun is going to burst on your tongue with a taste like a splash of Chanel No.5 which it won't deliver at Christmas. I want to want my Hot Cross Buns all the length of the rest of the year so I can look forward to them with excitement at Easter. Instant gratification is the ruin of excitement and longing. Thank you for your response!
Those strawberries need to be eaten in June, fresh-picked and still warm; the greenhouse-grown or flown in from warmer climes ones quite simply don't taste the same. Instant gratification turns us into spoilt children!
I entirely agree. Not only are we spoilt children but our tastebuds are spoiled for the lack of true flavour in what we eat out of season at its very best.
Wonderful article. Thanks for the French Onion Soup recipe. I might skip the deep-fried cockroaches though!
Hahaha! But it's reassuring to know that if we absolutely have to depend on insects in the future, they are actually perfectly nice once you get over the idea of them.
I don't like hot cross buns that much and loathe Marmite, but J tried those and said they were vile! But didn't Honest Unami launch some time ago, I recognise the brand?
You're absolutely right - in March last year. But they're apparently doing a push to overcome consumer resistance to MSG and get more outlets to stock it, particularly as an aid to salt reduction.
A Tabled reader has emailed a link to a play/comedy in San Francisco about, if you can imagine this, MSG - Exotic Deadly: The MSG Play https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2024-2025-season/exotic-deadly-or-the-msg-play/
He also makes this important point for those concerned about their salt intake: "Yes, the glutamates in MSG are chemically the same as the natural glutamates in Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. The powder is made by processing a seaweed-based glutamate with sodium to create a salt. Marmite has salt added to the yeast extract. Anyone who has to restrict sodium needs to know that they both actually contain salt, even if MSG won't harm the rest of us. And, as the character Exotic Deadly points out, it makes food delicious."
Your every point is absolutely spot on. The communal clinging to ignorance is apparently so comforting.