This is an interesting article about "umami" which is the Japanese word for "deliciousness". Ignore the food pairing that doesn't appeal to you and focus on the natural origin of glutamates and what it means for raw foods and raw food combos. I find it UTTERLY fascinating!

I'll post the text as well as the link here, scroll down the page.

[www.skyscrapercity.com]

The humble MSG, flavour enhancer, and a substance that is Generally Recognised as Safe. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a well-known flavour enhancer.

MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Sold as a fine white crystalline substance, it is made up of 78.1 per cent glutamate, 12.3 per cent sodium and 9.6 per cent water. Glutamate is one of the most abundant amino acids found naturally in the body (0.6 per cent in free form, 99.4 per cent bound to proteins).

In 1908, Professor Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University first identified its unique taste through his experiments with broth prepared using kombu seaweed. The taste of glutamate was referred to as umami, an independent basic taste alongside the quartet of sweet, sour, salty and bitter that are widely accepted.

MSG was ideal as a food seasoning as it did not have a smell or specific texture of its own. Thereafter, it was used in many dishes to enhance the original flavour of food, making good food taste better.

Today, MSG is produced through fermentation from molasses, sugar cane or sugar beets and food starch from tapioca or cereals, and used in great quantities in the food-processing industry.

As amino acids are building blocks of proteins, glutamate occurs naturally in many living things and protein-rich foods such as meat, milk, cheese, poultry and vegetables. There is 'bound' glutamate, linked to proteins, and 'free' glutamate, which is not linked to proteins.

Only the 'free' glutamate improves the flavour of food. When added to food, it provides the same flavour as the glutamate that occurs naturally in food.

'Free' glutamate is most commonly found in vegetables. So, an intensified savoury umami flavour is obtained when cooked meat and vegetables are consumed together.

It is amazing how Mother Nature has designed our taste buds to make a balanced diet more palatable. This also explains the simple gastronomic delight of sprinkling Parmesan cheese on pizza and pasta, and drizzling tomato ketchup on french fries and hamburgers.

One can also understand now why fermented fish sauces and extracts of meat and vegetables have been so valued for many years - shottsuru of Japan, ngan-pya-ye of Myanmar, patis of the Philippines, garum of ancient Rome, nam pla of Thailand, nuoc mam tom chat of Vietnam, Bovril, Vegemite, Marmite and Worcestershire sauce.

These, together with soya sauce, young peas, ripe tomatoes, oysters, mushrooms and human milk, contain huge amounts of free glutamate.

Glutamate is the major source of energy for the intestinal mucosa, with 95 per cent of it completely metabolised in the intestinal wall during absorption.

The amount of glutamate taken in food is about 17g a day. It has been estimated that daily glutamate intake from added MSG is 0.35g to 3g a day. About 14g is excreted via faeces, urine and skin in a day.

Health experts recommend consuming no more than 2,000mg a day of sodium in the diet, equivalent to one teaspoon of salt (5g).

A teaspoon of MSG (3.8g) contains 467mg of sodium, about a quarter the amount in a teaspoon of salt.

Some reports suggest that when MSG is used instead of salt, the amount of sodium in the recipe can be reduced by 30 to 40 per cent.

Adding excessive amounts of MSG does not improve the taste of a dish.

For better management of sodium intake, do cut back on using salt and salty seasonings when preparing food. Use natural seasonings such as lemon juice, herbs and spices instead. When eating out, ask for less sauce and gravy, and always taste the food first.

The United States Food and Drug Administration considers MSG a Gras, or Generally Recognised As Safe, substance. A 1995 report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology concluded that there was no difference between naturally-occurring free glutamate in foods and the manufactured type found in MSG.

The American Dietetic Association says that people who need to control their sodium intake, and those with decreased taste sensation, such as the elderly, could use MSG.

Scientific evidence has shown no association of MSG with the concerns of hair loss, headache and allergic reactions. MSG is a permitted flavour enhancer under Singapore's Sale of Food Act.

Ms Janice Tan
Lecturer
Natural Sciences and Science Education
National Institute of Education

that is a very interesting read, I remember some people freaking out years ago about it possibly being linked to cancer? do you have any info about the validity of such claims? I dunno, seems like almost everything is linked to cancer these days...lol...

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Well, anything synthesized can't be good for us to eat, it's not a food then so... But naturally occuring compounds are a totally different story.