yads 194 points 3 years ago

MSG. People will swear it gives them all manner of ailments

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quadrotiles 31 points 3 years ago

I bought a big pack of msg from the Asian supermarket and use it instead of normal salt for many things. My partner and I call it wonder salt.

(Of course, msg like normal salt or anything should be used in moderation lol)

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megane_kun 25 points 3 years ago

I bought a big pack of msg from the Asian supermarket and use it instead of normal salt for many things. My partner and I call it wonder salt.

I hear the voices of my ancestors cry in confusion.

But seriously speaking, I've never encountered MSG being used in place of salt. We use it here to give food more of that nondescript meaty taste (aka umami).

Personally, if I need both salty and umami tastes I'd reach for soy or fish sauce first (depending on what's being cooked). I'd only add MSG and/or salt if I really have to—usually to make minute adjustments.

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quadrotiles 6 points 3 years ago

I'm sorry for offending your ancestors. I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me lol

Tbh, I'm not very good at cooking and I rarely add salt to my food. If I want saltiness, I usually get it through ingredients like soy sauce, for example. I guess I don't mean that I use the msg instead of salt, but I do use in foods where you might add salt, and I just happen to not since I added something else that serves a similar purpose. Does that make sense? But then, like I said, I'm not good at cooking and I just try to make things and experiment a bunch (a lot of experiments have failed horribly)

Also - maybe it also makes a difference that I eat vegan/vegetarian and I don't always know how to fill in the "meaty" gap that I feel like can be missing.

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Zarxrax 9 points 3 years ago

I heard a lot about how msg can make stuff taste great, so I bought some a while back and I try it every now and then, but I can't really tell the difference. If I use too much I do notice that it makes the taste worse. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong.

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quadrotiles 12 points 3 years ago

Yeah, using too much is going to make your food taste gross, just like adding too much salt would too. I also think it might not be suitable for every dish, so I think there's some experimentation required. For me, I like to add it to things that have a lot of tomato in them (like a sauce) or when I feel like there's something "missing". I find it rounds out the taste.

Maybe while you're cooking, taste your food before and then immediately after adding some msg, taste it again. It won't be like a huge, in your face difference - it's pretty subtle imo. Then again everyone's tastes and taste buds are different and it might just actually not be for you!

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