Hold the MSG and give me an extra order of Bitter Gourd! I LOVE that Karela Bite!
In prain Engrish, MSG velly velly BAD!!!
Why is that? I know some folks are hypersensitive to it, but I
can’t figure out what caused the general public to try to avoid
the substance.
MSG is an additive used in asian cooking to enhance flavour, it does the same job as the basic stock used in most asian cooking, dashi. There isn’t any great reason to use it other than it’s easy, but also there’s not a convincing argument (as in there really isn’t. I don’t mean there isn’t a convincing argument in the global warming, head in the sand sense) that it causes the problems reported.
Here’s a good, balanced article about MSG:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,1522368,00.html
Kwok syndrome/Kong Syndrome/Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.
If you wake up in the middle of the night with palpitations and a galloping headache after eating Chinese food, it’s probably the MSG. (or the vast amounts of alcohol used to wash it down…)
Couldn’t resist. I had to look up needle mushroom. This one turned out to be valid. Golden needle mushroom is the common translation for enoki mushrooms.
MSG is a modern substitute for a natural starchy enzyme product used in Chinese cooking for as long as anyone can remember. It can be used as a tenderizing agent, but mostly it is used as a “filler” flavour.
Why are people down on MSG? As others have noted here, some people are really sensitive to MSG, but in reality, lots of MSG is usually a sign that the food isn’t very fresh, and the cook is trying to cover this up. Some Chinese are really crazy for MSG. If their tongue isn’t numb by the end of a meal they say there wasn’t enough MSG in the dishes. I don’t know why, but Coke seems to help counter the effect of MSG on the tongue.
Another thing that people refer to was a study a few decades ago by WHO that pointed out that Chinese have more stomach cancer than any other group. There was no direct correlation with Chinese cuisine or MSG in the study, but of course those who are looking for a scape-goat often immediately point to MSG. It could just as easily turn out to be a genetic predisposition for stomach cancer.
Personally I don’t mind MSG in small portions, though it does instantly remind me that they are covering the taste of stale food. I have experienced the wooden tongue of too much MSG at a few Chinese banquets and cannot find anything good to say about it.
djm
Is that where you wake up thinking you’re a Chinese Restaurant?
And what’s that have to do with King Kong?
Interesting, thanks. Sounds like it may or may not be popular
misinformation…
I’ve had the numb tongue before, but I thought it was from the
Chinese insanity peppers. Oy.
Too much MSG gives me a really bad headache, so I try to avoid it altogether.
Doritos have a lot of MSG. Just last week a guy I work with got a bag of the Nacho Cheesier flavor. At the bottom of the bag was a huge glob of flavoring. We saved it and now refer to it as our ‘MSG lick’. It was about the size of two bullion cubes squeezed together. We haven’t had the stomach to try it yet.. 
We saved it and now refer to it as our ‘MSG lick’.
I just picture cows licking the “salt rocks”. (rocks that are licked smooth by countless cow tounges where we always threw loose salt for them-“salted the cows”)
Tell that to my husband, who can tell you within less than10 minutes of eating it that “there must have been some MSG in that…”… and lo and behold… there always has been … He gets a specific kind of headache with it.
Isn’t that what one of the guys on Heroes can do, or am I thinking of X-Men?
This kind of headache reaction is common.
If you look at the list of glutamate containing foods the article’s author touts as proof MSG is harmless, you’ll see a number of foods known to trigger migraines in susceptable people.
The source of glutamate is irrelevant; significant amounts of glutamate from any source cause headaches in susceptable people. If it’s true that Japanese and Chinese don’t get headaches from glutamate, then perhaps there’s a genetic susceptability that’s more common in non-Asian populations.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5364970
We’ve dramatically reduced Arleen’s migraines, as well as my own, less severe headaches by following Dr. David Buchholz’s advice (Faculty and Director of the Division of General Neurology, Johns Hopkins; author, Heal Your Headache).
Best wishes,
Jerry
Yup, MSG makes me swell up like a toad and gives me ghastly headaches. Also, gas.
Too much information! 
djm
That, coming from a man who admits to stinky feet.
Mea culpa. 
djm
I confess, I use Accent food flavoring in everything. It’s pure unadulterated MSG. Of course I woudn’t use it if my guests were allergic. But I never have guests so it doesn’t matter.
