a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment

Soups and most meat-n-veg based dishes that don't have a lot of dairy, which is why it's so popular in stir-fry. Also works when added in moderation to lettuce-free salads. I like to chop up cucumbers and tomatoes and mix them together with whatever else is on hand to make a non-leafy salad, and a dash of MSG does alright.

Italian food doesn't seem to need it because it already uses lots of glutamate-rich tomato and cheese.

Coffee certainly does not need MSG. If you're trying to find a way to use up some nasty supermarket-brand pre-ground coffee that always brews too bitter, the trick is to sprinkle a couple of "stars" of salt--less than a fraction of a pinch, just a few grains--onto the grounds before brewing. It neutralizes the bitterness and makes it more palatable. MSG has a very similar effect, but because of the glutamate it adds the "umami" that... eah... isn't quite a good match for coffee.

Like I said, the coffee thing was an accident.