On 2/27/2010 11:17 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>
>
> "dsi1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 2/27/2010 7:43 AM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
>>> > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> On 2/27/2010 6:22 AM, Omelet wrote:
>>>>> I'd never used it before until recently.
>>>>> I'm liking it on T-bones.:-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks to those that provided info' on it.t
>>>>>
>>>>> I bought a simple shaker of "Accent" at the store to check it out...
>>>>
>>>> Welcome to the dark side. MSG serves the same function as adding soy
>>>> sauce
>>>> or cheese to food. Of course, you can't add soy sauce or parmesan to
>>>> something like potato salad in which MSG works great. I wouldn't
>>>> consider
>>>> making potato salad without it. Never used it on a steak though.
>>>
>>> Does MSG mask the sweetness of vegetables? I like the sweetness of the
>>> potatoes in the potato salad and of bell peppers, onions, etc. I haven't
>>> had Accent in the house since the 60's. What can you tell it does for
>>> your
>>> potato salad? I'm not challenging you, I just want to know.
>>> Janet
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Adding MSG to potato salad is like adding bell peppers, onions, celery
>> to your salad without the taste of those veggies. I remember sitting
>> outside of a restaurant with my late neighbor and commenting that
>> their salad was different and tasted flat. He asked me if it had
>> enough salt and I said there was enough salt but it was a lot
>> different from their previous recipe but I couldn't put my finger on
>> what it was. He thought about it and said "No mo' Ajinomoto." A light
>> went off in my head and I said "you're right about that." Boy, my
>> neighbor was a smart guy and an experienced cook although, he might
>> have been a little crazy. :-)
>>
>> I haven't used Accent myself but it seems different from the Ajinomoto
>> that I use. They may add stuff in there that makes it cake up. If you
>> do try MSG, don't overdo it and pay attention to the balance of MSG
>> and salt. You'll probably be able to use less salt.
>
> So? A pinch of MSG to half a pinch of salt?
>
>

Good question. I don't know. My suggestion is that you season your food
the way you normally do except add a little less salt with some MSG
until you get a feel for the proportions. I cook for my mother-in-law
and keep the salt levels down as she finds most food too salty -
probably because she's in a constant state of dehydration.

You should start with a small pinch first rather than a big pinch. I
keep an open 1 lb bag of Ajinomoto all the time in the little cabinet by
the stove. The stuff is non-hygroscopic and will not cake-up even in
this humid environment.