Its present in our bodies and in many glutamate-rich foods like soy sauce, anchovies, tomatoes and cheese.
More umami and less sodium?
Its no wonder places likeMission Chinesein San Francisco have putMSG shakersnext to the salt and pepper.
There is no such thing as “Chinese restaurant syndrome,” experts say — so why do Asian chefs have to keep telling us that?
How Asian chefs feel about the dark No MSG days of yore.
After learning more about the negative propaganda surrounding it, I was sort of shocked.
But in some ways, its not all that surprising.
After all, in America, Asian food was often stereotyped as cheap and low quality.
The misconceptions around the ingredient are plentiful.
But that plant-based origin story hasnt always been understood or appreciated.
You cant be allergic to MSG, but you might be sensitive to it.
How did we get here, anyway?
He speculated that perhaps MSG, soy sauce or cooking wine could have caused the problem.
This shaky theory has been disproved but that hasnt helped dispel the negative associations.
Tia Rainsis a nutrition scientist and vice president of customer engagement and strategic development for the MSG producer Aji-no-moto.
Its not going to cause an allergic response.
Our bodies make glutamate, so it would not be possible to have an allergy to glutamate.
How to use it at home.
And if youre shopping at an Asian market, look for theAji-no-motobrand.
Many of the chefs we spoke to recommended it.
Im an Aji-no-moto loyalist, Telfeyan said.
Its definitely in my top arsenal of go-to seasonings.
Like with all seasonings, achieving balance will yield a greater result.
There are many ways to incorporate MSG into recipes.
Its truly versatile and all-purpose, Dao said.
Ro said his favorite way to use MSG is in soups.
The depth and flavor that MSG adds is clutch for an amateur cook like me, he said.
Prepare yourself for a more open embrace of MSG in the future.
Attitudes about MSG are changing, according to many in the Asian food community.
Even seeing it in a recipes ingredient list made some people uncomfortable, she said.
Im encouraging people to play with it.
MSG is turning up in less-expected places, too.
A collab with Williamsburgs Cantonese American restaurantBonniesyielded asalted kumquatbeverage, also made with MSG.
A similar shift is emerging in the restaurant scene, chefs said.
Engs cookbook, Salt, Sugar + MSG, is slated for publication in March of next year.
I use MSG not only in savory dishes, but in desserts and drinks, too, he said.
We even put it in the name of menu items, like ourMSG Martini.
For many years, I had a sense of cultural limbo that characterized my life, Sugimura said.
When I became a fully trained Japanese chef, I began to see my world open up.
Some foods are deserving of an MSG bump so deal with it, people.
This article originally appeared onHuffPost.
