monosodium glutamate

Name for an ingredient, i.e. the sodium salt of glutamic acid, widely used in Thai and Asian cuisine as a flavour enhancer, especially on savory foods, often described as the so-called umami (旨味) flavour, i.e. a fifth basic taste alongside sour, sweet, bitter, and salty, which Japanese scientists discovered in the early 20th century and whose name translates to ‘savory’. It is usually referred to by its abbreviation MSG and in Thai it is known as phong choorot, a name literally translates as ‘flavour boosting powder’. It was invented in Japan but the largest Southeast Asian factory of Ajinomoto, a brand synonymous with MSG, is located in Thailand. Here, MSG is made from fermenting natural ingredients. Firstly, fresh cassava roots are processed to obtain tapioca starch. The tapioca starch is then dissolved in water. This starch solution, which contains glucose, is then fermented. This fermentation process will turn the solution into something called glutamic acid broth. It is here that the glutamate, i.e. the G in MSG, is formed. This solution is then filtered to get rid of the colour, after which it is referred to as the MSG solution. Next, this solution is transferred to the crystallization process, where the glutamic acid crystals are separated from the fermented broth, i.e. the MSG solution is heated and dried to form the concentrated glutamate that is used to sprinkle on food. In part due to its scientific sounding name and some bad publicity, many people think that monosodium glutamate is made by mixing chemicals and preservatives, and thus unhealthy, said for some to cause excessive thirst, headaches, nausea, or heart palpitations, yet no real damaging side effects have ever really been proven. MSG is 80% glutamate  and 20% sodium, which also occurs is salt, and since glutamate also occurs naturally in many food products, such as nuts, tomatoes, and cheese, any averse side effect claimed by some consumers of MSG are more likely suspect to come from other substances in the food they ate, as food, especially processed food, is often processed oily and with a high salt content, whit the salt itself being a higher contributory factor in the symptoms typically claimed by some consumers of MSG. However, a very small number of some individuals may perhaps have a MSG syndrome, making them sensitive or hypersensitive to MSG, but even then this was found in FDA studies to affect these people only when tests exceeded very high doses of 3g of MSG. As a substitute for salt it might actually be better for ones health, because whereas half a teaspoon of salt contains around 1g of sodium, half a teaspoon of MSG has around 0.7g of sodium, and daily intake should not exceed 2g. 回