What people say about MSG

“The biggest old wives’ tale is that MSG is bad for you. That is complete and utter nonsense. There is not one scientific paper to prove that. These beliefs come from the 1970s when some journalist wrote about it. With salt there is a 50/50 argument but there is no argument with MSG… glutamate is a really important element of taste.”

“I like MSG. I don’t react to it – nobody does. It’s a lie, man. You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism. ‘Ooh I have a headache; it must have been the Chinese guy.’”

“Sometimes, you don’t want a dish to be cheesy or tomatoey; sometimes you just want something to taste like itself, only transcendently better. For that, nothing but pure MSG will do. It is to savory flavor what refined sugar is to sweet.”

“Things just taste better with MSG, whether it’s Western food or Cantonese food… Salt, sugar and MSG – I always joke that they’re the Chinese Trinity of seasonings.”

“My three kitchen staples are kosher salt, MSG, and black pepper. If you gave me those three items, I can make anything taste good – even dessert.”

“I grew up on MSG by the buckets. Go to any Asian home: It’s there next to the sugar and salt. It’s a flavour that’s ingrained in my soul.”

“Aged parmesan cheese and aged beef have some of the highest levels of MSG of any food we’re going to eat, and that’s part of what makes them so delicious… In the case of MSG, the record is clear. There is no evidence that MSG causes the symptoms of the ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’.”