Date Posted:09:17:14 04/05/03 Sat Author:reg Author Host/IP: Montreal-ppp47883.qc.sympatico.ca / 209.226.140.132 Subject: Re: Interesting facts on MSG
morning Roger, not sure i would call this information facts unless the article was accompanied by scientific documentation. i know you are just passing this info along for all to read. here is more info regarding the same subject.
"Monsodium glutamate, better known as MSG, is another product that has come under close scrutiny over the years. A great deal of bad press has been given to this product by people who know very little or nothing about it. As with nitrates, the benefits this product can provide have been conveniently omitted.
Little do the health-food faddists, organic gardeners or consumer groups know that MSG is simply made of beets or molasses made of beets, In fact, practically all the food we eat already contains glutamate.
It can be found in all poultry, fish, milk products, red meat and probably in all vegetables. Our body even manufactures glutamate, much the same as it does nitrite.
Glutamate was used in the Orient for thousands of years and has been produced from wheat and corn. MSG is made starting with plain old natural food substances. A fermentation process is employed and the end result is a substance looking much like salt or sugar. However, MSG is very much different from salt or sugar, which add flavor to food. MSG's role in food is to sort of wake up and enhance the flavor that is already there. I find it difficult to call MSG a chemical. It is clearly a food. For home use, a half teaspoon per pound of food is adequate. It can be used much the same as salt, before or after cooking.
It should be noted at this time that there are persons that are allergic to the MSG product. These people should avoid its use, as would any person that has allergenic problems with a given food product." Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas