Where does MSG come from? And why is it so integral to many Asian cuisines?!
Answers: I have an intollerance to MSG and it drives me crazy! I was watching a documentary about a cook who travels the world discovering the cuisines of various people. He was invited into a teeny tiny house in the middle of China, where they were preparing a traditonal meal. No supermarket packaged stuff, all natural, but then the woman who was cooking puts a handfull of what looked like salt into it, and it was MSG!
Well, someone else has already answered you on where it comes from...about why it's used in a lot of Asian cultures...all I can say is that:
1) it tastes GREAT in processed food. I hate how it tastes as an additive (like Accent) in hot food (like Americanized Chinese take out), but dude, Japanese junk food is the bomb. I grew up there, and it wasn't till I started buying imported stuff here and read the English labels that I realized how much it's in everything! Somehow they know how to balance it without overkill. Needless to say, though, I think it's bad stuff.
2) MSG's health concerns are not so big as they are here...maybe because people eat more healthy food in general in Asia than we do. I know I ate healthier there than I do here. Somehow it balances out.
You probably know this, but any Chinese restaurant (whether a crappy Americanized one or a nice one) will be glad to leave it out if you tell them you have an allergy when you order To my knowledge most Japanese and Thai restaurants here don't use it in dishes.
MSG is an artificial flavor enhancer. My friend also has an intolerance for it. It is sold under various brand and generic names. It is awful.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that is "generally recognized as safe," the use of MSG remains controversial.
MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. But subsequent research found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and the symptoms that some people described after eating food containing MSG. As a result, MSG is still added to some foods.
A comprehensive review of all available scientific data on glutamate safety sponsored by the FDA in 1995 reaffirmed the safety of MSG when consumed at levels typically used in cooking and food manufacturing. The report found no evidence to suggest that MSG contributes to any long-term health problems, such as Alzheimer's disease. But it did acknowledge that some people may have short-term reactions to MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — may include:
Headache, sometimes called MSG headache
Flushing
Sweating
Sense of facial pressure or tightness
Numbness, tingling or burning in or around the mouth
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Symptoms are usually mild and don't require treatment. However, some people report more severe reactions. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid foods containing MSG. When MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that "monosodium glutamate" be listed on the label — or on the menu, in restaurants.