Understanding MSG: Why It Should Have a Place in Your Spice Cabinet

For years, MSG had been demonized as that spice additive in Chinese food that contributes to such conditions as face pressure, heart palpitations, sweating, and headache. But the fact is, this powdery white spice gets a very, very bad rap. While it’s easy to blame it for the malaise some people claim to feel after eating dinner at their favorite Asian eatery, many of the negative effects that have been attributed to MSG don’t belong there.

Instead, it’s actually a spice that has not only been deemed safe to consume but also one that’s practically a necessity for cooks trying to push the envelope of creativity in the kitchen. It’s known that MSG makes savory food all the more so. However, but if savory recipes are the only place you’re using MSG, then you’re missing out on this spice’s true power. It not only boosts the umami flavor of meat and vegetable dishes, it’s now something that bold chefs have taken to putting a pinch of MSG in cocktails and desserts, too.

But MSG in cooking isn’t just for trained professional chefs. It’s something that you yourself should have in the cupboard. In this piece, we’ll look at why this is and why MSG deserves your esteem and a spot in your cupboard.

Monosodium glutamate – better known as MSG – is a type of amino acid that has been tapped as a food additive due to its ability to enhance the essence of umami, or savoriness, in food. (Incidentally, it also functions as a neurotransmitter.) It is considered one of the five tastes that register on the human tongue – That is, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. Although it is now commercially manufactured and put into bottles for use in cooking, it also occurs naturally in foods. Miso, tomatoes, mushrooms, meats, Parmesan cheese, and breast milk are just some of the foods where you’ll find MSG occurring naturally.

Although it is technically a seasoning, MSG doesn’t have its own flavor, per se, as much as it serves as a flavor enhancer to the foods it’s added to. According to Chef Christopher Koetke, Corporate Executive Chef at Ajinomoto, “Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the purest form of umami. […] MSG has been used as a seasoning for more than a hundred years to enhance and balance the savory taste of food.”

In its early days of manufacturing, circa 1908, a Japanese professor, Kikunae Ikeda, created the first form of MSG that existed independently from the food that contained it – seaweed broth, in this case. Today, the production of monosodium glutamate is different. Just like the wine you toast your birthday with and the vinegar that flavors your fish and chips, MSG is created by a process of fermentation. Ingredients like sugar cane or beets, corn, cassava, and/ or molasses are turned into glucose and are mixed together with microbes. Glutamate emerges from this fermented concoction. 

Salt is added to the glutamate after that. The substance that comes from this looks like a cross between salt and powdered sugar. It’s not as fine as powdered sugar nor is it as granular as salt. Rather, its consistency is somewhere in between. This is the seasoning in its crystalized form (and eventually, bottled or bagged form). The crystalized form allows you to use it in cooking, much like you would salt, pepper, and other seasonings.

Because MSG has “sodium” in its name, people are inclined to confuse it with table salt. And while MSG does have a sodium component, the two are different in many ways. Monosodium glutamate, like salt, enhances the flavors in foods because, chemically, it contains both sodium and glutamate. However, it’s technically not salty in the same way you’d expect table salt to be. In fact, some people, in an attempt to reduce their salt intake, will add more MSG to their cooking. As Chef Chris Koetke pointed out, “MSG contains only one-third of the sodium content of table salt, making it an excellent alternative for reducing sodium intake. A blend of two-thirds salt and one-third MSG can enhance flavor while lowering sodium by 25%.”

Monosodium glutamate does have a salt-like flavor due to its sodium content. However, salt just tastes like itself in the end because it only contains sodium chloride – at least 97%. The two seasonings also look similar but are noticeably different the closer you look at them. Table salt looks a bit like granulated sugar. MSG has a fine, powdery consistency that looks a bit like artificial sweetener.

Monosodium glutamate is often associated with the taste of meatiness, even if no animal protein is in a dish. It’s the element in food that contributes to tastes of savoriness. People have used a couple of different descriptors for the flavor of MSG. Some claim that monosodium glutamate has no inherent flavor of its own. Others suggest that it does taste a bit salty. Additionally, it’s important to point out that most people do not eat MSG on its own. It’s usually combined with food and other seasonings, so nailing down its exact flavor when it stands alone is understandably difficult.

To the point, it makes everything taste better, more savory. It creates a depth of flavor that the recipe alone could never achieve. To give a visual analogy, it turns pink to red by augmenting qualities that are already in the food. That’s why it’s such a good substitute for people who are trying to cut down on their salt intake: MSG added to food turns the flavor of a little salt into a lot of salt without increasing the amount of sodium in food. 

But its taste-boosting abilities aren’t just limited to savory foods. It’s also noticeable when you add MSG to unexpected dishes, like brownies. The dessert becomes sweet and savory and has more depth than it would have had if you had not added MSG. So, perhaps the real question isn’t what does MSG taste like? Rather, it’s what can MSG do for the flavor of the foods you combine it with?

Once you realize that your adventures with MSG aren’t limited to savory Chinese meals, you’re free to go wild and experiment with all that monosodium glutamate has to offer. Under normal circumstances, sprinkles of MSG are added to food as cooking time is coming to a close. Home gourmands can add MSG by itself to their food, though there are now blends of seasonings that also happen to include MSG. If you’re looking for an all-in-one deal, this might be the way to go. The seasonings and the MSG you’d like to enhance them with are all in one bottle in this set-up.

Additionally, savvy cooks are expanding the ways in which they use MSG in recipes. While it’s true that this flavor enhancer is often associated with Asian recipes as well as with glutamate-rich foods, like beef, mushrooms, and roasted vegetable dishes, it’s used in so much more now. Aside from brownies, it’s not unusual – at least in some culinary circles – to see MSG added to salad dressings, breakfast foods like eggs, ice cream concoctions, and bar drinks. In other words, anytime you’d like to introduce a savory flavor juxtaposition to your recipes, MSG would be a good place to start.

For many decades now, people have believed that MSG causes harm. Some went as far as describing symptoms like numbness, palpitations, and general weakness as symptoms of what was called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” This condition was thought to come from the consumption the MSG in Chinese food.

However, the harmfulness of MSG has been debunked over the years, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that it’s mostly safe to eat. The “mostly” here refers to early studies in which people were subjected to unnaturally high doses of MSG – “five to 30 times what would be considered a normal amount,” according to the Right as Rain website. Most people only consume about a tenth of a teaspoon of monosodium glutamate each day. That’s not much in the grand scheme of things. Aside from this, MSG is a substance that occurs naturally in foods. On a chemical level, naturally-occurring MSG and manufactured MSG are the same.

Along the same vein, MSG isn’t an allergen, either, so it won’t cause an allergic reaction. That is, it’s not one of the eight most common allergens that are so named by the FDA: peanuts, milk, soy, eggs, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and wheat. Years, even decades, of research back up this finding, so if you want to flavor up your food with a sprinkle or two of MSG powder, you can do so without guilt.

As a flavor enhancer, it’s difficult to beat MSG. As a major contributor to your daily nutritional needs, it leaves a bit to be desired. Let’s start with what it does have. It boasts 1% protein and 7% sodium. That’s about it for the RDAs you’ll get from sprinkling a bit of it in your favorite brownie recipe or on your stir fry.

Additionally, unlike most foods you’ll eat, MSG has very few calories. Monosodium glutamate has four calories per serving to the .7 that salt and pepper has. This is fairly typical in the spice world. Most seasonings come from plant matter, which has both carbohydrates and fats. These contribute to a spice’s calorie profile, though admittedly, these calories usually aren’t much. In short, it’s best to stick to using MSG because you want your food to taste good, not because you’re hoping to get a full recommended daily allowance of nutrients from each shake of the MSG bottle.

It’s most accurate to say that there are more brands of MSG than there are varieties, meaning that MSG, like salt, is a pretty straightforward thing. It’s white powdery stuff that kinda resembles snowflakes on the microscopic level that’s put into jars and sold on store shelves. As far as finding MSG brands go, there are a number to choose from. There is Spice Supreme, Spiceology, Ac’cent, and Ajinomoto, to name but a few. The prices on those range from $3.97 to $8.10 and up to nearly $19. The price variations are due to factors like container size and brand differences.

Additionally, some brands like McCormick make seasonings that are umami in flavor and have MSG content, but differ in appearance, meaning they’re not white powders. In the case of the McCormick brand, it’s an umami seasoning that has mushroom, onion, tomato powder, black pepper, and garlic in it, so the color of the seasoning reflects that. It’s worth noting that those ingredients have naturally occurring MSG and might be a good option for your food if you want to bring some additional flavoring to your cooking beyond just the savory.

The way you store monosodium glutamate is pretty much the same way you store other spices and seasonings. Depending on the circumstances, MSG can succumb to moisture, which creates chunks or lumps of the spice. You’ll work around this eventuality if you can find a cool, dark, and dry place to stash the spice. 

Ideally, you’ll put it in a container that has a tight lid – as opposed to tin or another kind of metal – which seals it off from the elements. Glass jars work well in this instance. If you’ve purchased MSG in bulk and are planning to transfer it from the bag or container it was sold in, be sure to fill the new container full of the spice to avoid extra air or moisture from getting into the jar. And if you have the option of storing it in a dark jar instead of a clear, colorless one, go with that. This step ensures that no sunlight will seep into the container of MSG.

Additionally, the scents of other items in your cupboard or pantry, including other herbs and spices, can change the flavor of your MSG. The way to avoid this is to stash it some distance away from those items. Finally, it’s shelf stable. If you store it properly, it’ll last a year or more in the cupboard.