On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:52:22 -0600, Omelet wrote:

> In article >,
> blake murphy > wrote:
>
>>> Pretty much any acid is sour. Vinegar is pretty common. Some people
>>> keep a bottle of vinegar on the table to add some "sour" to taste, just
>>> like many people keep a bowl of sugar on the table to add to coffee,
>>> tea, cereal or whatever. Many people keep a bottle of ketchup on the
>>> table, too. That has a lot of sugar and some vinegar, so it is a sweet
>>> and sour condiment. I'm confused about this Umami paste. A scientist
>>> in Japan already isolated a primary Umami flavor, know as monosodium
>>> glutamate, or MSG. This process of extraction was patented in 1909:
>>
>> i have no idea of the cost of the umami paste, but i'd guess anchovy paste
>> is cheaper and give much the same effect. or the powdered m.s.g.
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>
> Never thought of trying anchovie paste. I'm just learning to cook with
> the canned ones. It does add a "something savory" to anything you add
> it to for sure.
>
> So, a healthier MSG substitute? I doubt the sodium content would be any
> lower. <g>

probably not. but the sodium load in m.s.g. (especially in the small
quantities a home cook would use) isn't that great.

as far as i can determine (google is clogged with references from 'sodium
kills' or 'm.s.g. maims' sites so actual facts seem hard to come by - most
just say 'don't eat the following things, they're bad'), table salt is 40%
sodium:

<http://www.diturophotography.com/nutrition/pages/salt.htm>

....and m.s.g. is about 21%:

<http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17608.cfm>

given that most recipes i've seen call for much greater quantities of salt
than for m.s.g. (though they often call for soy sauce as well), i'm not
sure a 'lower-sodium' substitute is even worth searching for.

but i don't have a dog in this fight. my blood pressure is on the low side
(despite smoking like a fiend), and at one time the doc said my blood
concentration of sodium was low.

your pal,
blake