Recently, I wondered "Where do they get monosodium glutamate?" If you buy a jar of "Accent," or bulk MSG from a Chinese grocery store, where does it come from? Chemistry is a topic well-covered by the World Wide Web, and I found the answer soon enough. I guessed correctly from the name that monosodium glutamate is a salt of glutamic acid (an amino acid), and I learned that commerical glutamate is a product of bacterial fermentation (like yogurt), starting with molasses, sugar beets, tapioca and/or grains, and a culture of Corynebacterium glutamicum.
I was surprised that there was so much emotional baggage associated with MSG. I didn't really want to know what other people thought about MSG; I wanted to know how it was made. I had to wade through ubiquitous editorializing to find that information.
- The Wikipedia entry on "monosodium glutamate" presents some facts about MSG, but theirs is very brief account.
- All About MSG from the Australian Glutamate Information Service . This is an industry-sponsored informational site, with emphasis about how glutamate is a naturally-occuring flavor, present in traditional foods as soy sauce. I found their account of the "umami" flavor very interesting.
- The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth About MSG. You might guess that this is not a pro-MSG site from that title. Evidently, there is an MSG conspiracy afoot, and these articles blow the lid off.
- A list of MSG articles from Newstarget.com, Describing his point of view, Mike Adams says ...a few years ago, I...I realized that practically everything we are taught about health, disease, food and medicine is utterly false. Everything I had ever been told about health -- by my doctors, schools and even my own government -- was a lie. Trust no one.
2 comments:
I'm fond of your occasional "research posts" with their accompanying link collections with commentary.
I'd also occasionally wondered about MSG and have been intrigued by accounts of the umami taste.
Thanks, Larry! I'm glad these arcane link collections are useful to someone else. One great thing about reading blogs, for me, is coming across things I wouldn't even think to wonder about otherwise. (Like Mississippi River town architecture, and the late-night happenings at the BP station.)
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