Monosodium glutamate, that we know popularly as MSG, is the only food enhancer most of

us have even heard about. Though the science of food enhancing is quite new, the conscious use of

MSG goes back many centuries in Oriental cuisines.

How do food enhancers work? We don't know for sure, but we are learning more about

them all the time. Scientists now believe that a reaction between the food enhancer and certain

chemicals in foods alters our perception of the taste. In other words, the flavor of the food does not

change at all. Only our perception of the taste changes, the message the taste buds send to the brain.

MSG

Japanese and Chinese cooks have used MSG for centuries. It is a natural substance that is

part of many basic foods, including mushrooms, tomatoes, human milk, cauliflower, carrots, celery

and seaweed—all of them very flavorful foods. In the Orient MSG was first extracted from

seaweed, and, after discovering its effect on flavor, introduced it extensively in cooking.

MSG, whether natural occurs in food or you add it, accentuates or sharpens the flavors. In

addition to this curious effect, MSG also prevents flavors from fading—a most desirable

characteristic for prepared foods for which processors want to extend shelf life without staling the

flavors. Foods with MSG give you a pleasant mouth feel, the sensation of satisfaction, richness and

fullness. It also reduces your perception of the sharp, unpleasant edge of onion taste, the earthiness

of potatoes, the bitterness of some vegetables and it generates an agreeable meaty flavor. A small

amount of MSG creates the perception of saltiness in foods, so much so, that processors can reduce

salt by up to 30 percent and not lose the satisfying salty flavor. This is particularly useful for people

on low-sodium diets.

Ready for a kitchen experiment? Cook a favorite chicken, vegetable or meat stock. When

you are ready to serve it, divide it into two pots. Stir the amount recommended by the MSG package

into one pot (1½ teaspoons per gallon or 4 liters of food), then cook both for another minute. Give

your guinea pig guests or family a blind tasting of each and ask them if they can detect a difference.

When I tried this, the portion with MSG had a significantly better, sharper, smoother flavor to all

my tasters.

If you are dead set against adding anything artificial to your pot but want to enhance the

flavor, use soy or tamari sauces which are both naturally high in MSG. Mushrooms, mushroom

concentrates and powders do the same thanks to their high MSG. You will not have the full flavor

enhancement effect, as you would with MSG, but it will be noticeable. The food industry uses these

two sauces in many products as flavor boosters, even chocolate and ice cream, and can legally call

them "natural."

The so-called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome," a tightness in the chest, pressure in the head

and behind the eyes, is a reaction some people get from eating in Chinese restaurants. They

originally blamed it on MSG in the food. If MSG is the culprit in this syndrome, it is because an

overzealous cook used too much (the old if-a-little-is-good-more-is-better rule). Scientists are still

studying what causes this reaction to Chinese food, but the most recent suspect is some other

substance that commonly occurs in the food, or even the air in Chinese restaurants. They don’t

believe it is MSG.

It takes very little MSG to produce a powerful effect. The label on Accent, a commercial

MSG product available in the supermarket, recommends 1½ teaspoons to one gallon or 4 liters of

food, which translates to only 0.2 percent of the total weight, about the same as the amount of salt

you would use in a stew or soup stock.

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