On Mon, 05 Sep 2016 22:27:41 -0500, "cshenk" > wrote:

> Ophelia wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> > "Cindy Hamilton" wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> >
> > Autolyzed yeast extract is just their quaint way of hiding
> > monosodium glutamate.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
> > ==========
> >
> > Why is monosodium glutamate despised here so much? I use it,
> > although in minute amounts, and I it would be good to know what the
> > big problem is.
>
> Many reasons Ophelia but most based on thinking MSG is bad for you.
> Used properly, MSG is used to replace salt as it's a lower sodium item
> and doesnt make you want to salt the food. You use it in pinches for
> that. With reasonable use you can reduce your sodium intake by 40%.
>
> Most popular is to complain of MSG in chinese food but studies to date
> have shown severely low levels of reaction to MSG, but instead people
> not used to that cuisine, reacting to iodine (seaweed and shellfish)
> and other shellfish components. It became popular to blame MSG in the
> late 90's and the pervasive idea continues today. There are no
> scientifically made studies that show any MSG reaction among the
> populace once they rule out the more likely items like shellfish and
> derivatives from those.
>
Back in the days when MSG got a bad reputation, food "intolerances"
were virtually unknown. Overdo it and you get a headache, at least
that was my exSIL's symptom. I suppose there are different symptoms,
but that's what happened to her and she could point to eating Chinese
food. She cooked a lot of Chinese food at home too, so she was able
to narrow it down to using MSG or not. I don't need MSG or salt for
that matter. Soy sauce provides enough salt for me.



--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.