I found some old MSG powder in the pantry, which I must have bought a
few years ago and forgotten about. It's in an airtight container, but
not in the original package, so I have no "best before" or other
date. It still has a strong savoury flavour. Does this stuff expire
in any meaningful sense?


If I add a bit of this to a bread-machine recipe, do I need to adjust
the salt content, or does MSG not interfere with the action of the
yeast? (Maybe this is a stupid question: I doubt that it does, but
I'm curious if anyone knows. I tried to search the WWW for this, but
all I got from those keywords were pages warning people that yeast
extract is a furtive way to put MSG-like stuff in food.)


Interesting newspaper article I found:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...rink.features3


A curious poster I saw in Korea a few years ago:

http://www.newsfroup.net/korea-food/#msg


--
Unix is a user-friendly operating system. It's just very choosy about
its friends.

Adam Funk wrote:
>
> I found some old MSG powder in the pantry, which I must have bought a
> few years ago and forgotten about. It's in an airtight container, but
> not in the original package, so I have no "best before" or other
> date. It still has a strong savoury flavour. Does this stuff expire
> in any meaningful sense?

No.

Mark Thorson wrote:
>Adam Funk wrote:
>>
>> I found some old MSG powder in the pantry, which I must have bought a
>> few years ago and forgotten about. It's in an airtight container, but
>> not in the original package, so I have no "best before" or other
>> date. It still has a strong savoury flavour. Does this stuff expire
>> in any meaningful sense?
>
>No.


White powder with a strong savory flavor in an unmarked container is
probably not MSG.

Thanks for the pics. I got distracted.

MSG isn't like an herb that gets stale, but, like salt, can have
unfavorable interactions with the environment. If in doubt, throw it
out. You can usually find it in the dollar a jar aisle.

I like MSG, but it is not really a flavor on it's own, more that it
alters other flavors in a good way. And I've never baked with it.

And when brooklyn/sheldon isn't a complete ass he can be a genius.
He's telling you to toss the rat poison.

B

brooklyn1 wrote:
>
> Mark Thorson wrote:
> >Adam Funk wrote:
> >>
> >> I found some old MSG powder in the pantry, which I must have bought a
> >> few years ago and forgotten about. It's in an airtight container, but
> >> not in the original package, so I have no "best before" or other
> >> date. It still has a strong savoury flavour. Does this stuff expire
> >> in any meaningful sense?
> >
> >No.
>
> White powder with a strong savory flavor in an unmarked container is
> probably not MSG.

It's not cocaine. That has a bitter taste.
What did you have in mind?

Mark Thorson wrote:
>brooklyn1 wrote:
>> Mark Thorson wrote:
>> >Adam Funk wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I found some old MSG powder in the pantry, which I must have bought a
>> >> few years ago and forgotten about. It's in an airtight container, but
>> >> not in the original package, so I have no "best before" or other
>> >> date. It still has a strong savoury flavour. Does this stuff expire
>> >> in any meaningful sense?
>> >
>> >No.
>>
>> White powder with a strong savory flavor in an unmarked container is
>> probably not MSG.
>
>It's not cocaine. That has a bitter taste.
>What did you have in mind?

Gross stupidity... anyone who would keep a white powder in an unlabled
container, especially in their kitchen, is a pinhead of the highest
order.... perhaps it's rat poison.

I've no idea what it is but MSG tastes about half as salty as ordinary
table salt and in the mouth will impart a slight raw meat flavor (the
flavor of your own flesh) but there is no savoriness.... savory adj. A
term describing food that is not sweet but rather piquant and
full-flavored.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

On 2010-03-19, brooklyn1 wrote:

> Gross stupidity... anyone who would keep a white powder in an unlabled
> container, especially in their kitchen, is a pinhead of the highest
> order.... perhaps it's rat poison.


The airtight container had an adhesive "MSG" label which I printed
with a label-maker some time ago. When I found the container I
remembered buying the packet a few years ago and repacking the
contents. (It got lost in the pantry and I just re-discovered it.)


--
Steve: Now, okay. I did say that monkeys could program Visual Basic.
Leo: But not that all Visual Basic programmers are monkeys.
Steve: Exactly. [Security Now 194]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:19:12 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

> On 2010-03-19, brooklyn1 wrote:
>
>> Gross stupidity... anyone who would keep a white powder in an unlabled
>> container, especially in their kitchen, is a pinhead of the highest
>> order.... perhaps it's rat poison.
>
> The airtight container had an adhesive "MSG" label which I printed
> with a label-maker some time ago. When I found the container I
> remembered buying the packet a few years ago and repacking the
> contents. (It got lost in the pantry and I just re-discovered it.)

as far as i know, m.s.g. is about as perishable as table salt.

your pal,
blake

On 2010-03-19, blake murphy wrote:

> as far as i know, m.s.g. is about as perishable as table salt.


I'm not surprised, but it doesn't hurt to ask.


--
And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb
through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a
sucker you are. [Rufus T. Firefly]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:16:05 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

> On 2010-03-19, blake murphy wrote:
>
>> as far as i know, m.s.g. is about as perishable as table salt.
>
> I'm not surprised, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

nope. no harm at all.

your pal,
blake