Arthur, monosodium glutamate is a beetroot extract and is normally found in a jar. It is a white crystal similar to castor sugar or salt. It has no taste itself, but is used as a flavour enhancer as it has a swelling effect on the taste buds.

It's used in almost any dish where you want to have "more taste". Use sparingly.

If you have high blood pressure or are otherwise on a restricted sodium diet it is best just to skip this ingredient.

It can be found in any supermarket usually in the spice section and is sometimes called Aji No Moto - which is the Japanese term.

Good luck

thanks t.v. foodie-your a good source of information.

t.v. foodie, to give me an example of the quantity to use how much should i use in a curry for four-a pinch,a quarter of a teaspoon or what?

thanks

Arthur, I'm quite surprised that a curry is calling for MSG as curries are already very flavourful. You will normally see MSG used in "blander" dishes such as vegetable stir fry, etc.

Anyway, if the recipe is calling for MSG for some weird reason then add what they recommend.

In any case, no more than 1/2 teaspoon I would think.

Don't forget by adding this you will be adding the equivalent of 6 times the amount of sodium for an equivalent amount of salt.

thanks tv foodie-i like to know all about something once i start-thanks yet again

where did you buy your msg arthur10?

at a chinese/asian food shop- just ask,or look, i think they all stock it-good luck.

i know where to get it arthur10 and how to use it not sure why you bought it if you didn't know anything about it and why you didnt ask the shopkeeper what it was before you bought it

i bought it because the chinese carry- outs use it and i love the taste of a chinese carry-out curry.

i have found out about it from t.v.foodie etc.

im sure youve all had a chinese or indian carry-out-never heard anyone ask either of them if theyve used m.s.g.before buying!!

very doubful that a chinese takeaway curry has msg in it. shouldnt have. did the takeaway say they put it in? very unlkely. indian curry would never have it in.

it dosnt come from beetroot either!!!!!!!!!!

arthur10 this is a message board if you ask a question you ask all and anyone or everyone has the right to answer. they are not your posts they belong to the message board.

I have never heard of it being from beetroot either, it is used a lot in chinese cooking, is very high in sodium and has many health issues connected with it.

Unless a recipe specifically calls for it and salt can't be used as a substitute, I wouldn't use it or recommend it.

thanks i will!

Arthur, more info on MSG for you:

MSG stimulates specific receptors located in taste buds such as the amino acid receptor T1R1/T1R3 or other glutamate receptors like the metabotropic receptors (mGluR4 and mGluR1) which induce the taste known as umami, one of the five basic tastes (the word umami is a loanword from Japanese; it is also referred to as "savoury" or "meaty").

Originally manufactured from seaweed in Japan, modern commercial MSG is produced by fermentation of sugar beets. About 1.5 million metric tons were sold in 2001, with 4% annual growth expected.

MSG is used commercially as a flavour enhancer. Once stereotypically associated with food in Chinese restaurants, it is now more often found in many of the most common food products consumed:

1. most canned soups
2. most powdered beef and chicken stocks
3. most flavored potato chip products
4. many other snack foods
5. many frozen dinners
6. almost all fast foods
7. instant meals such as the seasoning mixtures for instant noodles

Marmite, roquefort cheese and soy sauce are extremely high in MSG.

To check whether there is MSG simply look on the side of the food pack and check for "E621".....this code is your MSG.

Only the L-glutamate enantiomer has flavour-enhancing properties. Manufactured MSG contains over 99.6% of the naturally-predominant L-glutamate form, which is a higher proportion of L-glutamate than found in the free glutamate ions of naturally-occurring foods. Fermented products like soy sauce, steak sauce, and worcestershire sauce have comparable levels of glutamate as foods with added MSG. However, glutamate in these brewed products may be composed 5% or more of the D-enantiomer.

Hope that helps!!

you have edited your copy and paste tvfoodie for example

most canned soups of the US food industry
most beef and chicken stocks of the US food industry
most flavored potato chip products of the US food industry
many other snack foods
many frozen dinners
almost all US-originated fast foods
instant meals such as the seasoning mixtures for instant noodles

Yes? And the point is? Should I have inserted UK for US??? Same junk food here.

Sadly.

no you are incorrect it isnt in british food as it is in us food it has been cut back here and banned in many foods. your information is now misleading. to not warn arthur10 of the dangers and say it is in so many foods is not correct or true.

Better go look in your cupboard right now....have any Heinz Beans or Campbell's Soup handy???

Banned??? No MSG in Marmite????

in very minute amounts. you told arthur10 to use half a teaspoonfull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You do love to argue, don't you!!


All I said was to avoid MSG, that it didn't sound right for a curry recipe but if he wanted to use it, use what the recipe called for but "No more than a half teaspoon" for four servings. That represents 1/8 teaspoon [3gr] per serving.

Minute, indeed.

But, I agree, Arthur should refrain from using it. Too much sodium in everyone's diet anyway and MSG wouldn't help a curry dish in the first place.

I would listen to someone who knows Arthur10

Yes, I would hope arthur now knows to avoid adding MSG to his home cooked dishes but also to look for it in any prepeared food he buys.

And, really, he should ask his Chinese takeout [and Japanese restaurants, too] if they add MSG to any of their dishes. I would be surprised if they did, but who knows???

More to the point TVFoodie, I hope you now know not to read information from the internet you don't understand then pass it on in a dangerous way to a fellow poster whose health you could damage. Furthermore not to change the information you have found on the internet to suit your own needs only for the purposes of putting down another fellow poster.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, in this case a lack of understanding the knowledge passed on, could have been fatal.

Think about it.

This MSG topic has ignited elsewhere too, I just made a post somewhere else. TVFoodie and ChicknLikn, you have overreacted grossly to the issue of MSG. It is relatively harmless compared with other things you may ingest, including salt!!

Regardless, I'm so glad someone has brought up the topic of additives to our daily foods. These chemicals can be found in prepared foods, breads, cakes and even fruits and vegetables.

Did you know most citrus is "gassed" to help coloration! Here's a great link of E-numbers [link]

But of everything that is being added, MSG is hardly a major worry! [link] So I wouldn't panic Arthur!!