We have been talking A LOT in class about the “standard” 20 amino acids. Recently, I had a conversation with my dad that got me thinking about one amino acid in particular: glutamic acid. More specifically, we were discussing the sodium salt of glutamic acid, monosodium glutamate, which is commonly known as MSG.
My family is Chinese American, and we love eating traditional Chinese foods where MSG is a common ingredient. I’ve talked with my father previously on the pros and cons of using MSG in foods, but I’ve never had sufficient scientific background to really consider what I was putting in my mouth every time I chose to go eat some takeout. According to Wikipedia and the NYT, MSG is used in dishes to enhance savory flavors and to achieve what the Japanese call “umami” – the fifth flavor distinct from sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. It is a synthetic salt analog to the many types of L-glutamate that occur naturally in many foods, such as kelp.
I’ll admit it – I like the flavor of MSG. To me, it tastes of pure, distilled sea food, like all of the savory flavors in a dish have been magnified x10. As an ingredient, however, it remains controversial. I’m really interested in learning more about amino acid properties in class to see if maybe I can learn more about MSG. Maybe it’s time to cut back on Japanese and Chinese food?
If anybody is interested, here’s an old article NYT published on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&sq=msg&st=nyt&scp=1