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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nickiam2 10 points 3 years ago

The purpose of salt in cooking is as a flavour enhancer. It brings out the other flavours that already exist in the food. Salt is not a flavour. It's why a lot of recipes call for salt to taste, as how much you add can vary a bit. Next time you cook something that tastes a bit dull, try adding a small amount of salt and note what it does to the flavours as you add more. If it tastes "salty" you probably added too much.

Source - I was a chef/cook for 9 years

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quadrotiles 5 points 3 years ago

That makes sense, thank you! I will try experimenting with salt later :)

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megane_kun 4 points 3 years ago

They seem to be a lot more confused than angry, lol!

But yeah, thanks for the explanation about your use case. This, and your comment about using MSG on tomato-ey stuff has clarified things for me. The reason I brought up soy and fish sauces earlier is because they too, have MSG, and depending on the flavor profile I'm after, I might elect to use one or the other. That usually takes care of MSG in a lot of cases.

I just happen to not since I added something else that serves a similar purpose

.... Taken that way, we both do a similar thing.

I eat vegan/vegetarian and I don’t always know how to fill in the “meaty” gap that I feel like can be missing.

Ah, that explains a lot, thanks! And I don't really have experience in vegetarian/vegan cooking so I am afraid I can't help with that. There are meat substitutes, of course, but the one I had experience with relied on gluten to achieve a meat-like texture. I've heard, too, that mushrooms can used to give that earthy taste that can be enhanced with MSG. Tofu as well. But please take these with a pinch of... MSG, lol!

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quadrotiles 4 points 3 years ago

I really appreciate the explanation! I've learned a lot from you and the others, and I have some ideas for things I want to try for the next time (which is probably very soon, since it's almost lunch time lol)

I actually bought some mushroom sauce a couple of days ago, and I'm looking forward to giving that a go. I only recently discovered this amazing Asian supermarket near where I live (in Germany) and it has been so fun learning to use things I didn't know I had such easy access to before!

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