[1]The persistent, racist myth of "Chinese restaurant syndrome" just
won't die:
MSG is not bad for you.
Despite food scientists like [2]Harold McGee sticking up for MSG,
and the [3]blizzard of food writers extolling its [4]magical powers
of deliciousness, the perception that it is somehow uniquely
dangerous persists. Earlier this week, David Chang, the chef who has
made defending MSG a bit of a hobby, tweeted about adding it to
popcorn.
There was enough pushback, citing migraines and general
bad-for-you-ness, that Andrew Zimmern, another chef, took to
Instagram to defend the use of MSG in both home and restaurant
settings.
It's not just tastier popcorn we're missing out on by eschewing the
stuff. The Japanese chemist who discovered monosodium glutamate in
the early 1900s, and who founded a company to produce it, envisioned
it as a twentieth century path to better nutrition, for Japan and
beyond. Kikunae Ikeda noticed that very different foods, like miso,
asparagus, tomatoes, and cheese, all shared a common savory quality.
Working with kombu dashi, a Japanese broth made from a type of kelp,
he isolated that flavor and discovered MSG, a compound of sodium and
the amino acid glutamate.
(Via [5]Quartz)
I love me some MSG applied from my delightful Ajinomoto glass
dispenser. It doesn't take much to take most anything to another level
of deliciousness. My current favorite is sprinkling a bit on baked
potatoes before the plain yoghurt (instead of sour cream) goes on.
[6]We're a bit short on cheese.
As an occasional migraine sufferer, MSG plays zero role in any flare
ups as far as I can tell. [7]The Guardian has a long article on the
topic.
Also on:
[8]Twitter
__________________________________________________________________
My original entry is here: [9]The persistent, racist myth of "Chinese
restaurant syndrome" just won't die. It posted Fri, 07 Dec 2018
12:25:16 +0000.
Filed under: culture,
References
1.
https://qz.com/quartzy/1477172/the-persistent-racist-myth-of-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-just-wont-die/
2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1oR0EYaOHY
3.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/an-msg-convert-visits-the-high-church-of-umami
4.
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/give-msg-a-chance
5.
https://cms.qz.com/feed/
6.
https://www.agweb.com/article/japan-earthquake-may-lead-to-milk-cheese-shortage/
7.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3
8.
https://twitter.com/prjorgensen/status/1071019016427323392
9.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=2388
